New York Neighborhood Not Seeing Affects Of Reduced Crime

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is on track to achieve another all-time low in homicides this year. Police department officials are crediting initiatives targeting gangs and domestic violence with reducing murders across the five boroughs.

But the strategies that have dropped crime to record lows haven’t taken hold in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Brownsville, where the cycle of violence, silence and retribution seems entrenched.

Crime went down 9 percent in Brownsville during the past decade. Statistics show felony assaults are up and the number of shootings the same.

Community activists say a big police presence can’t make up for better schools, more jobs and better housing.

A burst of gunfire this past summer typified the frustrating cycle. A baby boy was struck in the head by a stray bullet and killed as he sat in his stroller.

source: Associated Press