Mayor: Four years ago, when we reorganized the city police department in order to save money, critics claimed that the reorganization would make the police less responsive to citizens and would thus lead to more crime  The police have compiled theft statistics from the years following the reorganization that show that the critics were wrong
There was an overall decrease in reports of thefts of all kinds, including small thefts
The mayor's critics generally agree that police statistics concerning crime reports provide the most reliable available data on crime rates.