New York City crime has plunged to lows not seen since the 1950s, and the United States' largest city continued to enjoy a steady decrease in criminal activity for the 27th straight year, according to The New York Times.
The newspaper said crime has fallen in all of the major felony categories of murder and manslaughter, rape, assault, robbery, burglary, grand larceny, and car thefts to a total of 94,806 as of Sunday.
That number easily beats the previous record low of 101,716 set in 2016 with just days remaining. Murders, which totaled 2,245 in 1990, have dropped to 286 in 2017, the lowest number since confirmable records, the newspaper added.
"There is no denying that the arc is truly exceptional in the unbroken streak of declining crime," retired New York City police commissioner William J. Bratton told the newspaper.
The Times wrote that the continued crime drop is a boost to the administration of New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, who ran on police reform despite warnings from foes that such moves would lead to a spike in crime.
The New York Daily News wrote about the crime drop in October, citing a nearly 25 percent drop in homicides from the previous year at that point.
"While we have achieved significant reductions so far this year, what is more meaningful is the manner in which we are doing it," current police commissioner James O'Neill said, according to the Daily News.
"Neighborhood policing is allowing us to count the residents of our local precincts among our strongest partners, fostering trust and making our city safer on every block," O'Neill added.
The Times wrote that there has been a rise in the report of rapes toward the end of the year, fueled by higher-than-normal number of attacks that happened more than one year ago, along with women coming forward to report motivated by the #MeToo movement.
The #MeToo movement was sparked by The New York Times article about disgraced Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and his years of alleged sexual harassment and abuse of women, the newspaper said.
The Times said that criminologists disagree on what is causing the continued downslide in crime, with some pointing to improved policing and policing techniques while others point to improved economic conditions and lower unemployment rates.
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