New York’s prison population is falling faster than anywhere in the United States, the city’s mayor said Thursday, citing effective law enforcement strategies as the reason for the success.
Officials announced that the incarceration rate had fallen 32 percent since 2001, the same amount as the decline in felony crimes in the Big Apple.
By last year, the incarceration rate was 27 percent lower than elsewhere in the United States, which locks up higher percentages of people than any other country in the world.
“New York’s crime rate has gone down more quickly and more steeply than the rest of the country and we are the model for low crime in this nation,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
“But unlike the rest of the country, the number of people we are incarcerating has also gone down.
“Some people say the only way you stop crime is to incarcerate. We have proven that to be untrue.
“Successfully preventing crime and breaking cycles of criminal activity can save thousands from a life of cycling through the criminal justice system.”
In 2001, there were 699 inmates per 100,000 residents in New York City, compared to 620 inmates per 100,000 people on a national average. In 2011, the figure was reduced to 474 for New York, but up to 650 nationwide.
New York prison population falling quickly
