During New York City’s mayoral campaign last year, some people warned that if Bill de Blasio were elected, the city might be plunged back to an era of rampant crime. the critics included de Blasio's opponent Joseph Lhota. Through the first two months of 2014, serious crime in the city has dropped, compared to last year – which turned out to be a historically low year for crime, says the New York Times. Murders are down 19 percent, to 44, from 54. Rape, robbery, burglary and grand larceny have dipped, too. The only major categories of crime that have increased are assault and car theft.
“It is not prudent to draw any conclusions from such a small window,” said criminologist John Shane of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Meanwhile, as predicted, de Blasio said his administration would drop a lawsuit that sought to block a new law inteded to prevent police profiling in New York. The move fulfills a campaign promise by de Blasio and represents the latest step by his administration to shake off its predecessor's legacy of aggressively defending police stop-and-frisk.