Latest figures show New York's violent crime rate dropped by 2.8 per cent in 2005, almost six times the national average. In Manhattan the annual murder rate has dipped below 100 for the first time since the 19th century. New York is now the safest of America's 25 largest cities, ahead of places such as San Diego and Dallas. Out of America's 227 cities with a population of at least 100,000, New York's crime rate ranks 211.
And why is that?
Many experts believe the strongest reason for the transformation is also the most obvious: better policing. Dubbed 'zero tolerance' by the media and politicians, police embarked on a strategy in the Nineties aimed at cutting big crime by stamping out small crime. It was a theory summed up in the idea that, if you refused to tolerate vandalism and breaking windows, you could improve a neighbourhood and discourage more serious criminals from operating. By the end of the decade this concept was being mimicked across America and the rest of the world, including parts of Britain.
But the truth is far more complex. 'There is no such thing as zero tolerance. It can't be done and the NYPD never tried it,' said Kennedy. In fact, New York's tougher attitude to small-scale crime was coupled with a revamp of policing. Better training was introduced, the best officers were put into positions of management and a revolutionary new computer system, dubbed CompStat, was brought in. This allowed the police to make hi-tech maps of crime hotspots so that they could target them quickly. 'Everybody likes a simple idea like zero tolerance. But the reality is far more subtle,' said Kennedy.
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