Ne York Murder Mystery The True Story Behind the Crime Crash of the 1990s [Paperback]

Andrew Karmen tracks a quarter century of murder in the city Americans have most commonly associated with rampant street crime. Providing both a local and a national context for New York's plunging crime rate, Karmen tests and debunks the many self-serving explanations for the decline. While crediting a more effective police force for its efforts, Karmen also emphasizes the decline of the crack epidemic, skyrocketing incarceration rates, favorable demographic trends, a healthy economy, an influx of hard working and law abiding immigrants, a rise in college enrollment, and an unexpected outbreak of improved behavior by young men growing up in poverty stricken neighborhoods.New York Murder Mysteryis the most authoritative study to date of why crime rates rise and fall.

With this elegant sweep, the author has parted the curtain to reveal a gaseous windbag behind the bombast attending the miraculous claims of today's wizards. Bravo. Systematically debunks popularly accepted reasons for the crime crash by wedding closely analyzed statistical data with common sense and historical precedent. . . . After reading this book, one thing becomes certain: today's New York isn't what it used to be. New York Murder Mystery is long overdue. It provides a well-written, illuminating analysis of an issue often subject to self-serving and simplistic sound-bites. Guided by Karmens thoughtful and thorough presentation, we come to understand all the factors contributing to the last decade's crime drop. We learn to credit not only new police tactics, demographics declines, and a prosperous economy but also the many thousands of youth who practiced wisdom and discipline in avoiding the self-defeating behavior patterns of their older friends and relatives. Karmen has written a book that anyone interested in the New York City crime story should read. Nobody has written about the NYC drop in crime more comprehensively or more even-handedly. This book assesses a complicated storlƒ“