Assignment Topic:
Crime in New York City
Instructions
This assignment will require you to compile graphs as you explore crime rates and trends for the city as a whole and for your precinct in particular. To get started:
Step 1: Gather your data.
Go to NYC.gov’s Find Your Precinct page and enter your given zip code (11232) to find your precinct.
Then go to the
NYPD’s CompStat 2.0 (http://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/stats/crime-statistics/historical.page)
. Use this tool to:
Graph the number of seven major felony offenses, NYC wide, between 2000 and 2020 (put all 7 on a single line graph)
Graph the number of seven major felony offenses in your precinct between 2000 and 2020 (put all 7 on a single line graph)
Omitting rape, consider the offenses that have seen the greatest change in reported crime in your district by both percentage and number of reported crimes over the last four years
Step 2: Write a short essay of 500-600 words that answers the following questions:
Considering your precinct, where has there been the largest shift in reported crime by both percentage (e.g. a drop of 50% over the last four years) and by raw number (e.g. 100 more robberies in 2016 than in 2012)? How does this compare to the city-wide trends?
Use the map in CompStat 2.0 to determine if part of the precinct represents a disproportionate percentage of these reported crimes (provide a screenshot of the relevant map[s]).
What do you think could explain the data you have collected? For example:
Have there been policies that could have contributed? How did the council member respond to those policy ideas (support? oppose? any stated reasons why?)
Is there a difference in the average income, level of education, or employment rates between the precinct and the city as a whole?
Considering the above:
If your precinct fares better than the city as a whole, why do you think this is? What could we learn from your precinct?
If your precinct fares worse than the city as a whole, what policies or initiatives could be instituted to make your precinct safer?
