Andrew Karmen tracks a quarter century of murder in the city Americans have most commonly associated with rampant street crime. Providing both a local and a national context for New York's plunging crime rate, Karmen tests and debunks the many self-serving explanations for the decline. While crediting a more effective police force for its efforts, Karmen also emphasizes the decline of the crack epidemic, skyrocketing incarceration rates, favorable demographic trends, a healthy economy, an influx of hard working and law abiding immigrants, a rise in college enrollment, and an unexpected outbreak of improved behavior by young men growing up in poverty stricken neighborhoods. New York Murder Mystery is the most authoritative study to date of why crime rates rise and fall.

About the Author
Andrew Karmen is Professor of Sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is the author of New York Murder Mystery: The True Story Behind the Crime Crash of the 1990s (NYU, 2000) and Crime Victims: An Introduction to Victimology, Tenth Edition (Cengage, 2019).

Reviews
Systematically debunks popularly accepted reasons for the crime crash by wedding closely analyzed statistical data with common sense and historical precedent. . . . After reading this book, one thing becomes certain: today's New York isn't what it used to be. * Villager *
Karmen has written a book that anyone interested in the New York City crime story should read. Nobody has written about the NYC drop in crime more comprehensively or more even-handedly. This book assesses a complicated story with an air of confidence and produces a convincing analysis. Those who think they already know the story are bound to be surprised by what they read here, and those who want to draw policy conclusions for New York's experience will find Karmens reliable analysis helps them avoid some of the pitfalls in the cyclical fads of criminal justice reform. -- Todd R. Clear,President of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
New York Murder Mystery is long overdue. It provides a well-written, illuminating analysis of an issue often subject to self-serving and simplistic sound-bites. Guided by Karmens thoughtful and thorough presentation, we come to understand all the factors contributing to the last decade's crime drop. We learn to credit not only new police tactics, demographics declines, and a prosperous economy but also the many thousands of youth who practiced wisdom and discipline in avoiding the self-defeating behavior patterns of their older friends and relatives. -- Robert Gangi,Executive Director, The Correctional Association
With this elegant sweep, the author has parted the curtain to reveal a gaseous windbag behind the bombast attending the miraculous claims of today's wizards. Bravo. -- Tony Bouza * Law Enforcement News *



Book Information
ISBN 9780814748046
Author Andrew Karmen
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint New York University Press
Publisher New York University Press
Weight(grams) 454g