Maybe the "Last Days" really are not as "Hard to deal with" as the WTS would like us the think....
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/Northeast/12/31/nyc.murders.reut/index.html
Manhattan murders drop to 19th century levels
Tuesday, December 31, 2002 Posted: 3:43 PM EST (2043 GMT)
Story Tools 
NEW YORK (Reuters) --
The 82 people murdered in Manhattan during 2002 represented the fewest recorded murders in any year since the 19th century, a crime watchdog group said Tuesday.
The Citizens Crime Commission of New York, in its analysis of city archives and 2002 police statistics as of December 29, said police drives to take illegal drugs and guns off the streets had made a major contribution to New York's steep declines in murder over the last decade.
"In the 20th century, from 1900 on, the number of murders in Manhattan never dipped below 100," said Thomas Reppetto, head of the non-profit commission.
"The real news is that as late as 1990 there were 503 murders in Manhattan and now we are coming in at about 82, which is an 84 percent decrease," Reppetto said.
In all five boroughs that make up New York, the most populous city in the United States with 8 million residents, 575 people were murdered this year compared with 646 in 2001.
The number of murders in the city overall fell below 600 for the first time since 1963, when 548 were recorded. The most murders recorded in a year in Manhattan was 661 in 1972.
"During the drug wars here we had gangs spraying corners, hitting nine or 10 people, gun battles going on all night long in some areas and that has largely been stopped by law enforcement," Reppetto said of the 1970s and 1980s.
The strong economy of the 1990s helped many major U.S. cities, including New York, reduce the number of murders, which is one of the barometers used by criminologists to measure declines and increases in serious crime.
The trend has started to reverse in Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta. U.S. officials reported a 3.1 percent increase in the murder rate nationwide in 2001, the first increase in a decade.
Manhattan murders drop to 19th century levels
Tuesday, December 31, 2002 Posted: 3:43 PM EST (2043 GMT)
| Story Tools |         |
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The 82 people murdered in Manhattan during 2002 represented the fewest recorded murders in any year since the 19th century, a crime watchdog group said Tuesday.
The Citizens Crime Commission of New York, in its analysis of city archives and 2002 police statistics as of December 29, said police drives to take illegal drugs and guns off the streets had made a major contribution to New York's steep declines in murder over the last decade.
"In the 20th century, from 1900 on, the number of murders in Manhattan never dipped below 100," said Thomas Reppetto, head of the non-profit commission.
"The real news is that as late as 1990 there were 503 murders in Manhattan and now we are coming in at about 82, which is an 84 percent decrease," Reppetto said.
In all five boroughs that make up New York, the most populous city in the United States with 8 million residents, 575 people were murdered this year compared with 646 in 2001.
The number of murders in the city overall fell below 600 for the first time since 1963, when 548 were recorded. The most murders recorded in a year in Manhattan was 661 in 1972.
"During the drug wars here we had gangs spraying corners, hitting nine or 10 people, gun battles going on all night long in some areas and that has largely been stopped by law enforcement," Reppetto said of the 1970s and 1980s.
The strong economy of the 1990s helped many major U.S. cities, including New York, reduce the number of murders, which is one of the barometers used by criminologists to measure declines and increases in serious crime.
The trend has started to reverse in Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta. U.S. officials reported a 3.1 percent increase in the murder rate nationwide in 2001, the first increase in a decade.