As of midnight Friday morning, New York City had gone a record 11 consecutive days without a single murder, breaking the previous record streak of 10 days. Still, records only go back to 1994, when the New York Police Department began using its current method of recording crimes.
The last homicide occurred Sunday, Feb. 1 when Shadale Graham, 28, was shot in Harlem.
The New York Observer's Jillian Jorgensen reports:
It is likely that the 11 days would be the longest New York City has gone without murders dating back much further than 1994--the city is drastically safer than it was in the early 1990s and before, with murders down to record lows that would have been unimaginable in the 1970s...
"This extraordinary streak of safety over the past several days is testament to the hard work of the men and women of the NYPD, and further evidence that New York City is the safest big city in America," said Mayor Bill de Blasio in a statement. "It's also proof we can bring police and the community closer together and keep crime down in our neighborhoods. Our administration is committed to keeping crime at historically low levels, building stronger relationships between police and communities across our city, and strengthening our support for our officers."
The comments come after several months of tension between de Blasio and the NYPD, after the mayor commented on the uneasy state of relations between cops and minority civilians following the death of Eric Garner, in what was interpreted as a blatant dis towards the police force.
"Obviously, the weather is helpful" said Eugene O'Donnell, a former NYPD officer and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in an interview with New York Daily News. "There's tremendous evidence to suggest that if the weather warms up you can easily have a very bad weekend."
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