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From: wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: NYC Crime Stats
Message-ID: <1121@pyuxa.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 23-Jan-85 08:44:40 EST
Article-I.D.: pyuxa.1121
Posted: Wed Jan 23 08:44:40 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 24-Jan-85 19:04:10 EST
Organization: Bell Communications Research, Piscataway N.J.
Lines: 22

As far as New York City being number 10 on the worst crime city list
goes, the stats are very misleading.  As it happened, under Mayor
Lindsey, the city had the dubious honor of being number one on the
list.  The Mayor decided to do a little finagling, and did.  The
laws were rewritten to suit the stats.  The city council, with the
approval of the State Legislature changed the definition of a
misdemeaner(sp).  Instead of a fifty dollar limit on petty theft,
the limit was raised to five hundred dollars. (To compensate for
inflation no doubt.)  Petty theft in NYC is a misdeamwhatever.
These crimes ARE NOT REPORTED IN THE STATISTICS.  Therefore, if
you come home and find that your $489.00 TV has been ripped off,
and you report it to the police, it will go on the books as a
petty theft.  The police will not be very aggresive in their search
for the rippers as it doesn't show up in the overall stats.

A great majority of the crimes committed in NYC are for less than
500 bucks.  Unless the crime was committed using a weapon or some
other illegal tactic, it will never show up in the national statistics.
It is my firm belief that NYC is still Numero Uno in crime, but thanks
to politicians and others of that ilk, the real story is hidden under
the statistics.
T. C. Wheeler