Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Marilyn Mode (212) 374-6700 (NYPD)
The FBI's report shows that New York City continues to lead the nation in the fight against crime. Over the last four years, New York City has experienced the largest sustained crime decrease -- 40.7 percent from 1993 to 1997 -- of any city in the country. New York City has dropped to 160 on a list of 201 cities with populations over 100,000. In fact, New York City continues to be safer than cities such as Atlanta (1), Orlando (2), Miami (5), Fort Lauderdale (7), Minneapolis (15), Baltimore (26), Seattle (29), Buffalo (77), Boston (109), Albany (105), San Francisco (103) and Denver (135). New York City is also the safest city in the nation among cities with a population of over one million, including Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Diego.
Crime continues to plummet in New York City in 1998 with a decrease of 9.5 percent over the same period in 1997 and 48.8 percent since 1993. The one index crime that has seen a slight increase in 1998 is rape with a reported increase of an additional 52 rape over the same period in 1997. It is important to note that in 1997, New York ranked 25 in rape compared to the 25 major large cities. More than 60 percent of all reported rapes in 1998 have been determined to be acquaintance rapes.
The Mayor and Police Commissioner thanked and congratulated the men and women of the Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, as well as community members, for their commitment to preventing crime and to improving the quality-of-life for all New Yorkers.
The FBI's Preliminary report is comprised of crime data from cities with populations of over 100,000 for calendar year 1997, with the number of cities reporting varying slightly from year to year.
The chart below shows the nationwide percentage changes in crime as compared to New York City for calendar year 1997, based on preliminary data by the FBI and the New York City Police Department:
| NATIONWIDE | CRIME | NEW YORK CITY |
| -9% | Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter | -21.7% |
| -1% | Forcible Rape | -7.5% |
| -9% | Robbery | -10.0% |
| -2% | Aggravated Assault | -1.0% |
| -5% | VIOLENT CRIME VS. PERSONS | -5.9% |
| -3% | Burglary | -11.7% |
| -4% | Larceny Theft | -3.2% |
| -5% | Motor Vehicle Theft | -14.1% |
| -4% | CRIMES VS. PROPERTY | -7.0% |
| -4% | TOTAL CRIME INDEX | -7.0% |