At least the plunging rates of homicide in the metropolis would have you believe the police have been doing a fine job of controlling the heinous crime! Plunging mercury levels have pushed most petty criminals and even drug peddlers off the streets but the 12 week ‘no homicide’ run cannot be attributed only to the inclement weather.
In fact, it has baffled even the experts who are struggling to link the reduction in crime rates to various sociological factors. However, one thing is clear that the increase in mass incarceration can no longer be correlated with the diminishing numbers of violent criminal acts such as murder and rape. The mayor was quick to shower praises on NYPD for the rate reduction, but this was seen more as an attempt at pandering to the cops with whom he shares a strained relationship.
As a wave of criminal justice reforms seems to be gripping the country, it cannot be denied that there has been a marked improvement in the crime scenario of certain high tensions areas such as the notorious Marcyville neighborhood. A resident who served as a community guard said that in 1991, almost 75 homicides were reported in the area but by 2012 this figure had been reduced to just one case of murder.
So, undoubtedly the criminal justice system needs an overhaul but there is no telling if the law makers won’t inevitably push a generally stabilizing environment back to its volatile days in trying to keep the prison population in check.