New York murders lowest in 50 years

The number of murders in New York this year fell to its lowest point in a half-century, mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday, celebrating the city's shattering of the old record. A total of 414 homicides occurred in 2012, down from 515 last year, or about a 19 percent decrease, the mayor said at a ceremony honoring New York City police. That was the lowest figure since the start of data collection in 1963. "The previous low in modern times was 471 murders back in 2009. So it's pretty clear we are going to shatter this record and shatter it by a lot," Bloomberg said. "Murders are down almost 19 percent this year compared with last year. They are down 35 percent from where they were 11 years ago when our administration began." The number of shootings in the city also fell to 1,353 this year, said Bloomberg, a long-time advocate for tighter gun laws. In 1990, the city saw more than 2,260 murders -- meaning the number is now five times lower, according to police statistics. "With the decrease in murder, New York's murder rate has fallen to 3.8 homicides per 100,000 residents. New York City has a far lower murder rate than other major American cities," city hall said in a statement. Last week, Bloomberg announced that the city's prison population had fallen by a third from 2001 to 2011.