How Safe is New York City?

We are constantly amazed at the number of people who assume that New York City remains among the deadliest spots on earth, ranking up there with Sarajevo and Beruit at their worst. The media loves to play up this image, of course, with the local evening news and the tabloids reporting every grisly murder and outrageous crime they hear about.

New York's Falling Crime Rate

The truth is though, that crime in New York City has gone through an amazing decline. For example, New York is on track to have fewer than 500 homicides in 2007, down from 2,245 in 1990. This decrease is part of an ongoing trend in New York. Crime has been falling a bit each year since the late 1980s. And while the sharpest declines might have occured during the Giuliani administration, the rates have continued to drop under Mayor Bloomberg.

Less Crime Than Other Cities

The result is that on a per-capita basis, New York City now has one of the lowest crime rates in the country. In recent years, FBI data has shown that among the 25 largest American cities, New York ranks the 23rd most dangerous, beaten only by San Diego and San Jose. New York is safer than many smaller cities, too: among the 182 U.S. cities with populations of more than 100,000, New York City comes in at 136 -- about the same as Boise, Idaho.

So why is there still plenty of hullabaloo about crime in New York City? For one thing, it is a big city with big city problems, such as those related to drug trafficking (which is perhaps the number one cause of criminal activity in the U.S. today). There are also pockets of high-crime hot-spots -- like the poverty-stricken and drug-ridden areas in the South Bronx, Harlem, Washington Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn -- which contribute to the impression that the city is a crime-infested mess. And because some of the most well- publicized crimes in New York in recent years appeared to be random acts of violence, there is a general belief that visitors to the city are just as likely as not to become crime victims.

The bottom line is, however, that it really is safer than ever to be in New York City. In addition to lower violent crime and theft rates, New York has even made considerable gains in reducing infringements on "quality of life" -- like begging, graffiti and the dreaded "squeegee" people, who insist on cleaning your car windshield, whether you want them to or not. And a concentrated effort is being made to clean up even the most dangerous, drug-ridden areas of the city.

Best Bets for Avoiding Crime

While crime has been reduced in New York City, it certainly has not been completely eliminated. Your chances of not being a victim go up tremendously, however, if you simply avoid buying, selling, or otherwise being involved in the illicit drug trade.

What else can you do to protect yourself? Check out the related article on streetwise survival tips. And above all, use common sense and don't take unnecessary risks.

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