Citizens Crime Commission of New York City

A non-partisan non-profit organization working to make criminal justice
and public safety policies and practices more effective through innovation,
research, and education.

CRIME PREVENTION
Overview | PreventStat | Expanding the DNA Databank | Cyber Crime Resources

The Crime Commission develops and supports innovative strategies that prevent
and fight crime.

The Crime Commission seeks to address the question of how government, law enforcement, criminal justice, and community-based programs can work more effectively to prevent crime.

Total Crime in New York City, by Category 1980-2010 [UCR]:

Crime / Year	1980	1990	2000	2010
Population	7,035,348	7,322,564	8,008,278	8,336,002
Murder	1,818	2,251	673	536
Rape	3,711	3,126	1,630	1,036
Robbery	100,550	100,280	32,558	19,608
Aggravated Assault	43,476	68,891	40,831	27,309
Burglary	210,703	119,937	37,112	17,926
Larceny	249,421	268,620	139,661	111,370
Vehicle Theft	100,478	147,123	35,846	10,319
TOTAL	710,157	710,228	288,311	188,104
Crime Rate (per 100,000)	10,094.13	9,699.17	3,600.16	2,256.53

PreventStat
The Crime Commission supports the diversion of non-violent offenders toward alternatives to incarceration. Available data strongly suggests that these programs are less expensive and more effective than prison for many offenders, in particular those with substance abuse or mental health issues. Unfortunately, there is very little data on what works best and virtually no systematic studies of individual programs in New York. The Crime Commission is working to develop a new data system—PreventStat—that will aggregate data and measure what is working and what is not working. read more »

Expanding the DNA Databank
In 2006, the Crime Commission successfully supported the expansion of New York's DNA databank. But New York still fails to collect DNA from more than half of all convicted criminals. By helping to solve crimes and determine the innocence of the accused, forensic DNA information has increasingly become a major resource for law enforcement and criminal justice officials. The Crime Commission believes that DNA should be treated in the same way that fingerprints are treated—a sample should be taken for all offenses and kept in a database in cases once a person is convicted and if the matter is dismissed the sample, along with the fingerprints should be sealed. read more »

Over the past two decades the New York Police Department has reported a significant drop in crime in New York City. Although crime is at historic lows, there is still much that needs to be done to improve the outcomes of the criminal justice system and effectively prevent crime.

In the current economic climate the City must think critically about how to invest scarce resources. As criminal justice agencies are required to do more with less resources, innovative uses of technology are necessary. Coupling technology and statistical research has proven to be an effective crime fighting approach.

There is an extensive body of literature on evidence-based programs—those that are proven to reduce recidivism and are cost-effective. In order to maintain the status as one of the safest big cities in America, the New York City government must commit to implementing and expanding evidence-based programs that effectively save money and increase the return on taxpayers' investment.

In addition, crime prevention programs targeting special populations—including individuals with mental health issues, the elderly, and minority youth—need to be expanded to effectively protect these vulnerable groups.