What Caused New York's Drop In Crime?
How responsible was Rudy Giuliani for the city's falling crime rates during his tenure? Ten years and one week after Abner Louima, a panel sponsored by the American Sociological Association discussed the topic. Their conclusions: Maybe a lot, except maybe he was the beneficiary of nationwide trends that saw crime drop simultaneously in other major cities where Giuliani was not, as it happens, the mayor. It's one of those topics where you can use whatever statistics you want to support your argument, so we don't suppose the question will ever be answered definitively, but say this for the former mayor: He kept Bernie Kerik off the streets for a little while. That's gotta count for something.
