During tonight’s GOP presidential debate in Florida, while defending his conservative credentials, New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani claimed that during his years as mayor, he was the toughest crime fighter in America. “I brought down crime more than anyone in the history of this country…I took the crime capital of America and I turned into the safest city in the country,” Giuliani said.

But as PolitiFact points out, “Giuliani’s big claims come with big caveats. While the statistics he cites are accurate, independent experts and studies of the phenomenon suggest Giuliani exaggerates his role.” Consider the following:

- Violent crime in New York began falling three years before Giuliani took office in 1994, U.S. Justice Department records show. Property crime began falling four years before. The decline accelerated during his administration, but the “turnaround” he claims credit for started before him.

- New York was no anomaly, but was part of a trend that saw crime fall sharply nationwide in the 1990s, particularly in big cities. The city with the best record for reducing violent crime during this period? San Francisco.

- Independent studies generally have failed to link the tactics of the Giuliani administration with the large decrease in crime rates.

Read more here.

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