# Crime in NYC on 9/11 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 23, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-in-nyc-on-9-11/251751 "2004-06-23T03:32:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![habs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@habs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/habs)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-in-nyc-on-9-11/251751/1 "2004-06-23T03:32:17Z")
I’m curious if it’s really true that, during 9/11, virtually no crime occurred in NYC. From: [http://tinyurl.com/2uegp](http://tinyurl.com/2uegp) > [@](#): > > Post September 11, America became patriotic again. All for one, one against evil, and so it went. In New York City, the metropolis formerly known as the crime capital of America, the homicide rate went down. Even violent felons, it seemed, were glued to their TV sets in the days and weeks following the terrorist attacks. and from: [http://tinyurl.com/3y2sl](http://tinyurl.com/3y2sl) > [@](#): > > Thomas Reppetto, president of the Citizens Crime Commission, says he has “resisted that notion” partly because crime rose toward the end of 2001 after dipping immediately after Sept. 11. Interestingly, the same phenomenon also occurred when Desert Storm started in January 1991. Despite the enormity of those circumstances, I just can’t bring myself to believe that even hardened criminals, with little or no respect for fellow human beings in other situations, would simply be tuned into the TV to watch that day’s horrific events unfold. Wouldn’t they take advantage of the reduced police presence in the rest of the city to commit robberies, looting, etc.? Is this really true about the crime levels having dipped to virtually zero on September 11? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-in-nyc-on-9-11/251751/2 "2004-06-23T03:36:36Z")
First of all, New York City has never been “the crime capital of America,” especially not in the past 15 years or so, during which it has been one of the safest large cities in the country. It is true that reports of violent crime were far down in the weeks after 9/11, though some of that is likely explained by the fact that police were busy with cleaning up the WTC, cordoning off lower Manhattan, working with the National Guard, rerouting traffic and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-in-nyc-on-9-11/251751/3 "2004-06-23T13:33:12Z")
Not in NYC, but my car stereo was stolen two days later ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-in-nyc-on-9-11/251751/4 "2004-06-23T13:39:07Z")
[Snopes.com](http://Snopes.com) examined a similar legend, [When the Beatles first appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964, no major crimes were reported in New York City during the hour the program aired](http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/beatles.htm). They list it as “undetermined.”