RT Article T1 The rise and fall of New York murder. Zero tolerance or crack's decline? JF The British journal of criminology VO 39 IS 4 SP 531 OP 554 A1 Bowling, Benjamin LA English YR 1999 UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1640123083 AB The striking reduction in homicide in New York City between 1991 and 1997 has been claimed as a great success for a 'new policing tactic dubbed 'zero tolerance' - the aggressive enforcement of minor offences. The evidence that changes in policing made 'all the difference' is largely circumstantial, however, Homicide rates were at an all-time high in 1990-91 and had begun to decline before any radical changes in policing policy were instituted. The 1985-91 'murder spike' has been attributed largely to the simultaneous expanding crack cocaine 'epidemic' so the subsequent reduction in murder is related logically to the contraction of crack cocaine markets in the 1990s. There is some tentative support for the impact of policing on an already falling crime rate, but the changes in policing between 1991 and 1997 cannot adequately be described as 'zero tolerance'. The author argues that the 'New York story' has been over-simplified and over-sold, and that 'zero tolerance' is an inappropriate language for police policy or practice K1 Tötungsdelikte K1 Entwicklung K1 Crackkonsum K1 New Yorker Modell K1 Polizei K1 Zero Tolerance K1 Waffengebrauch K1 Broken-Windows-Theorie DO 10.1093/bjc/39.4.531