The City That Become Safe

In the 1980s, New York was considered one of the most dangerous major cities in the United States. Crime was on an ultimate high, especially in Brooklyn, New York. The documentary, “The Seven-Five” directed by Tiller Russell, focuses on a police officer named Michael Dowd who worked in the 75th precinct. The 75th precinct was known for being the most dangerous area with the most crime. However, not only were individuals within the community committing crimes. Dowd, who’s been on the job for two years, went from being a good cop that followed all protocols to a corrupt cop that went down the path of crime. This documentary goes into details on Dowd’s crime streak, how he got caught, the case against him, and the testimonies of his partners in the police station. This case was considered a “major corruption scandal in New York City in the 1980s” (Michael Dowd, 2015).

New York City is one of the world's most known cities, it is known as the melting pot. New York City has a blend of cultures all in one city. From the statue of liberty, malls and sky scrapers to the parks and restaurants, there’s always something to do or see. But like any other city, crime does exist. With that being said people are starting to feel unsafe. Citizens are moving from the place they once called home. Most believe that there's life in a civil society where kids can grow safely, nourish and thrive off the environment.

“In the case of East Harlem, rising crime fears are accompanied by an obvious statistical explanation: Countering trends in most of the city, crime there has increased drastically. Over the past year, it has gone up by 17 percent, according to Police Department figures, with increases in rape, robbery and felony assault, among other transgressions.” (Bellafante)

The 1980s and early 90s were home to an extreme wave of criminal activity that swept across much of the country. The dramatic uptick in crime can largely be attributed to the spread of the crack-cocaine epidemic and subsequent “War on Drugs.” New York City, for example, suffered from 2,605 murders and 208,813 burglaries in 1990, at the height of the violence . Much of this criminal activity centered around and affected the poorest individuals in those communities – which often included minorities.

The book’s fourth chapter, “Where have All the Criminals Gone?” in particular, includes several subjects the authors acknowledge will “provoke a variety of reactions, ranging from disbelief to revulsion, and a variety of objections” (140). By this point, readers already know the authors’ view that the legalization of abortion in Roe v. Wade caused the drop in crime during the 1990s because this idea first appears on page four. Rather than simply explaining why abortion lowered crime rates, Levitt and Dubner use a chart to introduce seven explanations commonly cited by experts for the sudden drop in crime during the 1990s, then examine the authenticity of each one. The first possible cause is “a fairly uncontroversial one: the strong economy”

Richard Rosenfeld takes note to the rising crime statistics and relationship between the police and public, but also notes “It may also have to do with local factors specific to a particular city,”(Schuppe).

Crime rates in Los Angeles are the lowest they have been in decades, and they are continuing to drop. In 2014, the city of Los Angeles and the county of Los Angeles reported less than six hundred homicides, a dramatic reduction in an area that averaged over twelve hundred homicides a year just two decades ago. In fact Los Angeles – a city in which over thirty-five percent of resident were not born in the United States – has actually seen crime rates drop drastically faster than other major cities with fewer immigrants, and this isn’t the only study supporting the link (Perez,

New York City during the 1990s has experience crime rates dropping dramatically under Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton lead. Both began new approach to policing by developing several new strategies under the proponent of “broken windows” theory. Under Bratton, the NYPD began to enforce statutes aimed at curbing “quality of life” offense, offenses that are minor and were overlooked in the past in favor to concentrate on serious crimes. Under the Broken Windows theory, small crimes leads to bigger crimes so taking a stance against the minor behavior sends a signal to the community that any kind of law breaking would not be tolerated. Community policing program was adopted in a minor form as police officials focused their

The two metropolitan areas I have decided to do my research paper on are Cincinnati, Ohio and Dallas, Texas. I choose Cincinnati because it is one of the bigger cities where I live. I choose Dallas because there seems to be a big difference in crime rates compared to Cincinnati. In this paper I will be comparing the burglary rate between these two cities. I will identify the number of burglaries reported to the police in each area and also explain which area had more reported

Since the 1990s and the crime drop, there has been many questions to the reason why. Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner thoroughly looked through the different theories but came to a conclusion that the main reason crime had fallen is abortion (117-145). One of the reasons they discuss is whether or not the increase of incarceration affects the fluctuations in crime rates. Levitt and Dubner suggest that the crime system became relaxed due avoid racism; however, the crime rates then began to rise (122). “Between 1980 and 2000, there was a fifteenfold increase in the number of people sent to prison on drug charges” (Levitt, Dubner 123). The purpose of this review is to evaluate the validity of the incarceration effects on crime rates.

This project is a focus on how variables such as population, ethnicity, and income affect crime rates throughout different neighborhoods throughout a city. I feel that this information finding this information could be useful to many people. For example if you are looking to buy a new home or even start a new business, you’ll probably want it located in a safe neighborhood. This study will help identify the signs of a safe neighborhood. Knowing why crime rates are higher in some areas may also help prevent the crime rate to rise in other neighborhoods. For example, if crime rates are higher in neighborhoods with

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, long before crime control measures aroused the attention of Americans technological communications were non-existent and transportation was limited, yet the population of America was drastically rising. The rapid growth of cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia directly contributed to increased criminal activity. Not to mention the upcoming decades contained significant national changes: ethnic differences, political awareness, moral change, economic growth and decline, etc. During that era robberies, homicides, and assaults were prominent as well as visible gambling and prostitution. Unfortunately, law enforcement is working to combat these same crimes to date.

In chapter 4 the chapter considers a variety of possible explanations for the significant drop in crime and crime rates that occurred in the 1990s. Based on articles that appeared in the country’s largest newspapers, the authors compile a list of the leading, commonly offered explanations. The next step is to systematically examine each explanation and consider whether available data support the explanation. What the authors, in fact, demonstrate is that in all but three cases–increased reliance on prisons, increased number of police, and changes in illegal drug markets–correlation was erroneously interpreted as causation and in some cases, the correlation wasn’t even that strong.

Examining the crime rates following the ‘New York miracle’ certainly lend credibility to the effectiveness of ZTP. Gibbons (1996) noted that burglaries decreased 24%, robberies 32% and motor crime 40% in the two years following April 1994. The overall crime rate was reduced by 37%, with decreases in homicide and violent crime of 51% and 38% respectively (Bratton, 1997). Advocates of ZTP attribute these reductions in crime rates to the use of a proactive and intensive policing approach, situational crime control, rapid analysis of information and heightened efficiency & accountability (Bratton & Knobler, 1998, Bintcliffe, 2014).

Murder is a form of violence that does more harm than just destruction of property but leads to a loss of life in the process, and that makes it more severe than other forms of violence that may just end at injuries to people or destruction of property (Staples 2014). The sociological approach to issues of murder in the city highlights how the society or the environment increases the cases of death or reduces them in a case where there are few cases of murder and how the revelation would relatively contribute in mitigating the cases of violence (Pratt and Godsey 2003). The trend in deaths across different cities including Philadelphia is a motivation that results from how the city operations are set and are functioning, the level of security