After sharp spikes in homicides and other offenses, which sparked fears of a return to the bloody New York of the 1990s, major crime in New York City has headed toward historic lows.

In New York and throughout the country, that rise in crime since 2020 was preceded by progressive policy experiments that kept criminals and suspects out of prison and jail, reduced the number of and activity by police officers, treated fewer offenses as crimes and destroyed public trust in the left.

One reason for the current reduction in crime, especially under New York’s very popular police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, is a rejection of the common anti-policing approach, with increased enforcement, concentrated in areas of New York City with the most crime.

But progressives in New York and elsewhere are still trying to eliminate tools that have made the police more effective.

Gang violence is a central concern in deploying officers to areas with the most crime. In a recent interview, Commissioner Tisch noted that some 60 percent of the city’s shootings are gang-related.