I really wish perceptive writers would stop saying things like "As shootings and murders continue to rise in cities across America, including New York." This is just not true, at least for New York. There WAS a clear spike in shootings and murders that seemed to begin around last year's lockdown, and then really surge over the summer, but it has been falling ever since. In Jan/Feb of this year, murders were actually down from those months in 2020. Shootings are not yet back to where they were pre-pandemic, but they are certainly not continuing to rise. It's also worth noting that even with the huge summer spike, last year's murder rate of 468 would have been a record LOW in almost any Bloomberg year.
Given the way this issue has been cynically deployed, I think it's worth being precise. I still talk to people outside of the City who seem to think New York has returned to 1980s level of crime, when actually it's more like mid-2010s levels, AND most of the evidence suggests even that was a temporary shock caused by the pandemic. Obviously every shooting and murder is a tragedy, and people's perceptions may be more important than reality in evaluating the political implications, but I wish writers would at least remind readers of the actual facts about crime when discussing this subject.
Murders are up from last year slightly, shootings are way up - not going to pretend this isn't a negative trend. The numbers are nowhere near what they were in the 1990s or 2000s, but a city in which 450+ people die a year is not something we should tolerate. Carnage was higher in Bloomberg years. Still, every life matters, and I don't get why the left is blase about these kinds of deaths but not others. Safe streets advocates treat every bicyclist death has an enormous tragedy - they are - but it seems when it comes to any increase in murder victims, it can get shrugged off.
Murders are up from last year slightly, shootings are way up - not going to pretend this isn't a negative trend. The numbers are nowhere near what they were in the 1990s or 2000s, but a city in which 450+ people die a year is not something we should tolerate. Carnage was higher in Bloomberg years. Still, every life matters, and I don't get why the left is blase about these kinds of deaths but not others. Safe streets advocates treat every bicyclist death has an enormous tragedy - they are - but it seems when it comes to any increase in murder victims, it can get shrugged off.
I don't mean to be blase. Of course every life matters. Of course we should aim for a murder rate of 0. But 450+ people were murdered a year under Bloomberg and the NYPD not only tolerated it, but celebrated it as a triumph because they got to attribute it to Broken Windows. Now that they can blame protests for it, it's treated as a horrific, unsustainable number. And my point is that the trend seems to have subsided, if not completely. Murders are roughly flat from last year. Shootings are way up from last year, but way DOWN from where they were last summer (from 6/21 to 9/13 there were an average of 51 shootings a week; since then the number is less than 25). So it's just inaccurate to say "shootings and murders continue to rise" in NYC. All I'm asking for is accuracy. This isn't "shrugging off" murder victims. If we're serious about actually PREVENTING murders, then we should be honest about the trends so we can identify the actual causes.
I really wish perceptive writers would stop saying things like "As shootings and murders continue to rise in cities across America, including New York." This is just not true, at least for New York. There WAS a clear spike in shootings and murders that seemed to begin around last year's lockdown, and then really surge over the summer, but it has been falling ever since. In Jan/Feb of this year, murders were actually down from those months in 2020. Shootings are not yet back to where they were pre-pandemic, but they are certainly not continuing to rise. It's also worth noting that even with the huge summer spike, last year's murder rate of 468 would have been a record LOW in almost any Bloomberg year.
Given the way this issue has been cynically deployed, I think it's worth being precise. I still talk to people outside of the City who seem to think New York has returned to 1980s level of crime, when actually it's more like mid-2010s levels, AND most of the evidence suggests even that was a temporary shock caused by the pandemic. Obviously every shooting and murder is a tragedy, and people's perceptions may be more important than reality in evaluating the political implications, but I wish writers would at least remind readers of the actual facts about crime when discussing this subject.
Murders are up from last year slightly, shootings are way up - not going to pretend this isn't a negative trend. The numbers are nowhere near what they were in the 1990s or 2000s, but a city in which 450+ people die a year is not something we should tolerate. Carnage was higher in Bloomberg years. Still, every life matters, and I don't get why the left is blase about these kinds of deaths but not others. Safe streets advocates treat every bicyclist death has an enormous tragedy - they are - but it seems when it comes to any increase in murder victims, it can get shrugged off.
Murders are up from last year slightly, shootings are way up - not going to pretend this isn't a negative trend. The numbers are nowhere near what they were in the 1990s or 2000s, but a city in which 450+ people die a year is not something we should tolerate. Carnage was higher in Bloomberg years. Still, every life matters, and I don't get why the left is blase about these kinds of deaths but not others. Safe streets advocates treat every bicyclist death has an enormous tragedy - they are - but it seems when it comes to any increase in murder victims, it can get shrugged off.
I don't mean to be blase. Of course every life matters. Of course we should aim for a murder rate of 0. But 450+ people were murdered a year under Bloomberg and the NYPD not only tolerated it, but celebrated it as a triumph because they got to attribute it to Broken Windows. Now that they can blame protests for it, it's treated as a horrific, unsustainable number. And my point is that the trend seems to have subsided, if not completely. Murders are roughly flat from last year. Shootings are way up from last year, but way DOWN from where they were last summer (from 6/21 to 9/13 there were an average of 51 shootings a week; since then the number is less than 25). So it's just inaccurate to say "shootings and murders continue to rise" in NYC. All I'm asking for is accuracy. This isn't "shrugging off" murder victims. If we're serious about actually PREVENTING murders, then we should be honest about the trends so we can identify the actual causes.
The savings of eliminating the police force are huge. No 35,000 standing army. Everybody just buy an assalt rifle for protection.