Gotham is a fictional city from the Batman comics, created by Bill Finger in 1939. The city is defined by all of the crime and corruption that takes place, but many don’t know that this was heavily inspired by New York City. Even though this is one of the most famous cities in the world, no one can deny the amount of crime and violence that takes place throughout our streets.
However, from Jan. 18 to Jan. 23 2025, New York City went five days without any injuries resulting from shootings. This is the longest amount of time there has been no shooting victims in 30 years.
“For the first time in 30 years, there have been 0 shooting victims in New York City for 5 days. This is the longest we’ve gone without a shooting victim since the beginning of the CompStat era and is a result of the brave work that the members of the NYPD do every day,” read a statement released by the New York City Police Department.
The five day no shooting streak ended on the night of Jan. 24, when a man was shot in the leg in the Bronx. It was reported that the victim crashed into a parked car, and then got into a verbal argument with the owner of the parked vehicle, and was then shot twice in the leg.
CompStat, the police management system that the NYPD adopted in 1994, was made in order to bring down crime and promote the collection of data in order to create solutions to issues regarding crime. By implementing this system, crime rates have decreased and it contributed to this five day hiatus of shooting victims since it was made in the ’90s.
Before CompStat was put into place, violence was at an all-time high in New York City during the 1980s and 1990s. This was due to the crack epidemic that took over the city during this era.
However once CompStat was introduced, crime rates and gun violence majorly decreased from what it had been in the past. It declined dramatically by 56% in the ’90s. As of Feb. 2025, crime rates have decreased by 15.9% from January of last year. 2024 was the second consecutive year of reduced crime in New York City.
Even though there has been a significant decrease over the years, violence still surrounds New York City. Incidents such as people being set on fire on the subway and being pushed into the tracks continue to persist, with headlines breaking on social media and news outlets weekly.
These issues are still prominent and unfortunately, New York City is far from being crime-free. However, the decrease can hopefully push us in the right direction of a more peaceful city, drifting further away from the dystopia of “Gotham” that New York is known for.
