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De Blasio, Bratton tout crime reduction during first two months of 2014 – Metro US

De Blasio, Bratton tout crime reduction during first two months of 2014

13087082984_311ab9cc10_b Mayor Bill de Blasio announces appointees Liz Glazer, Criminal Justice Director; Joseph Ponte, Department of Corrections Commissioner; Ana Bermudez, Department of Probation Commissioner; Vincent Schiraldi, senior adviser to the Office of Criminal Justice at City Hall on Tuesday. Credit: Ed Reed for the Office of Mayor Bill de Blasio

Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday that crime has dropped in the city during the first two months of his watch.

“Some naysayers suggested you couldn’t bring down crime while bringing police and community back together,” de Blasio said at a press conference. “I think these last 10 weeks show, yes, you can.”

Overall, major crime has declined 2 percent in the first 10 weeks of 2014 compared to last year, the mayor said.

De Blasio was joined by Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who touted the drop in homicides and shootings.

There were 46 homicides this year compared to 59 during the same period last year, Bratton said. There have been 141 shootings this year versus 166 last year.

“In fact, on March 5th, we had a 24-hour period in this city of 8.5 million people, that has 3 million visitors on an average day — on that day, there were no murders, there were no shooting victims, there were no stabbing victims, there were no slashing victims,” Bratton said. “We can’t find a day like that in the history of the department since we’ve been keeping records.”

In addition, there was a 10-day period in February in which there were no murders in the city.

“Ten days straight in New York City in which there was not a single murder is an extraordinary achievement for the NYPD,” de Blasio said. “I feel, as someone who cares so deeply for the neighborhoods of this city, that March 5th is a day I hope we will celebrate for a long time.”

The mayor made the announcement before introducing four appointees to his criminal justice team.

Joseph Ponte was appointed head of the Department of Correction, Ana Bermudez will head the Department of Probation, Elizabeth Glazer will head the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and Vincent Schiraldi will serve as senior adviser to the Office of Criminal Justice.