The New Police Corps

With each passing year a dwindling number of New Yorkers can recall the time when the cities of this State were considered safe places to live. New York City in particular has always been notable for excitement, noise, corruption and rackets. Violence, crime and discontent are not strangers to our streets; the New York City riots of 1863, 1943, 1963 and 1977 are proof. We have always had street thieves, prostitutes and pimps, hijackers and hustlers.

Nevertheless even New York was a city where the ordinary citizen felt safe, and was. As late as 1948, the City had the lowest violent crime rate of any major American city. But since that time, a menacing criminality has emerged and taken root.