NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (UPI) — Freezing temperatures in New York City appear to have cut the crime rate in the Big Apple with no homicides reported for nine days, police said.
The New York Post cited police sources who said that as of midnight Friday no killings had been reported since Jan. 16. That was the day Jennifer Rivera, 20, and her uncle, Jason Rivera, 30, were shot execution-style in The Bronx in a killing police say may be drug-related.
“Jack Frost is the policeman’s best friend,” one officer said. “The criminals are staying indoors.”
The body of a half-naked woman was found in Brooklyn Friday. Investigators have not labeled the death a homicide because there were no signs of trauma but were calling it “suspicious.”
The last time the city went so long without any homicides was in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which cut power to much of the city and disrupted transportation.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly stopped short of attributing the homicide-less streak to the weather, calling the evidence for it “anecdotal.”
“There’s no single easy answer, but to the extent that weather played a role, we’re ready for more cold weather,” Kelly said at a promotion ceremony Friday.
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).
