In 2005, Baltimore arrested approximately 1/6th of its population (100,000 arrests out of 640,000 residents).
In 2006, Baltimore arrested over 1/10th of its population (67,000 arrests).
In the first 8 months of 2007, 1,600 drug arrests in Baltimore could not be prosecuted due to lack of evidence.
The decrease in arrests - 7,500 fewer through August compared with the corresponding period last year - provides evidence for what police officials have been saying: that they have stepped away from "zero-tolerance" policing.
...
This year, about one-fifth of arrests failed to become criminal cases, because the infraction was so minor that it was "abated by arrest" or because prosecutors did not believe the case would stand up in court.
Meanwhile, New York City sees its murder rate drop to its lowest level in 40 years.
Also:
In the first half of 2007, New York City had a 5 percent decline in violent crimes, 23,887, down from 25,132. The city also had a 4 percent drop in property crimes for the first half of the year, according to a recent state report.
Comments