This ongoing transformation has been the driving force behind the city's overall resurgence. For people across the city, it's a source of deep pride and optimism that our city, which as recently as the early 1990s was considered by some to be the crime capital of the nation, particularly with regard to homicide, and derided all over the world for being overrun by violence, is now globally recognized as the safest large city in the United States. As we recognize this transformation and work hard to make New York City a still safer place, we should stop and think about the thousands of lives that have been saved, not to mention the thousands and thousands of lives that have been liberated from fear and intimidation, especially in neighborhoods that used to be considered the most dangerous. But at the same time, we must never forget that far too many people are still victimized by crime every day in New York City. All too frequently, the rights of victims are forgotten amidst the swirl of attention the media pays the perpetrators.
Victims deserve our care, attention, and unceasing dedication.
They deserve an administration that does everything in its power to reduce the number of people victimized by crime in the future. We must once and for all correct the imbalance of our state's criminal justice system. I admire the great work of the NYPD because it succeeded despite this imbalance. Now it's time to make the law genuinely responsive to the rights of victims. We should also change the way we deal with violent juvenile offenders by unsealing the records of those with repeat convictions.