As a city mired in chaos, New York became one of the safest cities in the world

Once in New York chaos and unrest reigned, and its inhabitants massively violated the law. The situation worsened until the authorities decided to make a move with the knight. Thanks to their actions, life in the metropolis today is far from what it was in 1970-1980. This was told by the author of the InTrend channel. Today on the site Yandex Zen.

How crime arose

Once upon a time, the territory of present New York was inhabited by Indians, or rather, the Delaware tribe.

Later, a Dutch trading settlement, New Amsterdam, appeared on Manhattan Island, named after the Manahatta tribe. In 1664, after the conquest of England, the settlement was called New York.

The inauguration of the first president, George Washington, took place on Wall Street, where the legendary New York Stock Exchange earned a few years later. Since then, New York began to develop rapidly. A thriving metropolis has attracted immigrants from all over the world.

At the peak of immigration, the world-famous Statue of Liberty was installed, which has become a symbol of all of America. In 1914, five districts formed in the city.

Immigrants (mainly people from ruined Europe) continued to arrive, and at the beginning of the 8th century the population of the metropolis was XNUMX million.

Gradually, the once prosperous city began to become unsafe.

Crime epidemic

Problems have accumulated over the years. First there was a scientific and technological revolution, then - the closure of enterprises and the growth of unemployment. “A huge number of companies were closed. Instead, they opened more modern and progressive organizations, but outside of New York. The townspeople were left without work, the crime rate was rising, ”the author writes.

In the 1960s, an economic crisis erupted. The population was forced to disperse in search of a better life. Over a million locals survived on welfare.

At the same time, those who did not want to work and intended to live off the funds allocated by the state continued to gather in New York.

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However, the allocated funds were not enough to put things in order. A different approach was required, and then a miracle happened.

The theory of broken windows - as salvation

After the peak of the crime epidemic in 1990, life in the Big Apple began to improve. However, this did not happen by itself, but thanks to the criminological theory (theory of broken windows). It was developed by American sociologists James Wilson and George Kelling in 1982, and is now powered by it.

According to this theory, broken windows in buildings that did not glaze caused looting, graffiti on the walls spoke of the collapse of the system, and garbage in the streets provoked people to litter even more, the author explained.

In those years, many New Yorkers were already used to not paying public transport fare. Actively fight with the “hares” began William Bratton, who assumed the post of chief of the transport police.

The city’s authorities, led by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, decided to make a move with the horse: instead of fighting major crimes, they directed all their forces to extermination of minor offenses. And it paid off. “The police detained everyone who violated the order: drunk, inadequate, throwing garbage on the street, not paying for the subway, urinating in the corners, as well as traffickers of prohibited substances. The chain reaction was stopped, and people began to keep order, normal life was returning to the streets of New York, ”the author says.

New York these days

Thanks to the right actions of the authorities and the police, New York today is a thriving metropolis, where people from different countries still gather in large numbers.

Of course, here, as in any other city, there are problems. However, compared with the crime rate in earlier times, now the metropolis can be called a paradise, the report said.

“The population of New York exceeds 8 million, and more than 20 million people live in the metropolitan area. The transport system provides comfortable movement of guests and locals along the Big Apple, and its subway is the largest in the number of lines and stations, ”the author concluded.