According to a 2005 Associated Press analysis of FBI statistics, which ranks cities based on the total number of crimes per resident, New York is the safest of the nation’s 10 largest cities, with about one crime reported for every 37 residents. San José came in second but, according to its own analysis based on the severity of the reported crimes, the city maintains that it is the safest city in the nation. Oh no they didn’t. So what is the severity of the crimes in NY? Well, that study may not yet be available but … While Bush administration officials stress that it’s too soon to conclude that an upward trend in violence has begun, the Justice Department recently announced that Americans were robbed and victimized by gun violence at greater rates last year than the year before (even though overall violent and property crime reached a 32-year low). The Bureau of Justice Statistics notes that there were two violent gun crimes for every 1,000 people in 2005, verses 1.4 in 2004. Furthermore, there were 2.6 robberies for every 1,000 people, up from 2.1 the year before. And a preliminary FBI crime report released in June revealed a 4.8 percent increase in the number of murders reported to police. Police chief Dean Esserman of Providence, Rhode Island notes that many cities have lowered the number of police officers in their departments. In May of this year, the New York Post ran an article revealing that the number of applicants to the NYPD has declined significantly due to a reduced starting salary. Commissioner Ray Kelly commented that applications to the Academy dropped 25 percent this year. So San José, you may have won the battle, but you have certainly not won the war.
