THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Synopsis Raises Some Legal Questions

I guess Gotham just needed laws all along.

The official synopsis for The Dark Knight Rises is upon us, and it has me scratching my head:





First: this indicates there were not eight years of untold Batman stories. He just quit after The Dark Knight. Huh.

Second: What's in the Dent Act that crushed criminal activity that wasn't in place before? Usually this isn't the sort of thing I care about, but I find myself wondering what the Dent Act could possibly contain that cleaned up a city as bad off as Gotham. I was always under the impression that Gotham's problems stemmed from endemic corruption and out of control petty crime (at least in the Nolan films. There are fewer costumed gangs in the Nolan Batverse). Is it some kind of law impacting GCPD? 

We'll find out soon enough.