The numbers were worst in the Bronx, where 61 people were killed this year, compared with 38 in the same period last year. Murders were down in Manhattan and up only slightly in the other boroughs. Takes Diallo Protest to the Polls Garry McCarthy, who oversees the New York Police Department's crime control strategies, disputed some published reports speculating that the shooting death of Amadou Diallo last year by four police officers had contributed to the murder increase. Diallo was shot 19 times as he stood unarmed in his Bronx apartment vestibule. It had been reported that some officers had been reluctant to make arrests for fear of being publicly criticized.
Arrests are up.
Criminal experts have attributed that decrease to the aging of baby boomers, a keener sense of community, pride in good citizenship and the decreasing use of crack cocaine. In 1998, the number of murders in New York City was down to 629, but it rose last year to 667. APB Multimedia Inc. All rights reserved.