rudy lied. again. bernie's name has never been prominently credited for the drop in nyc's crime. bill bratton and esp the late jack maple devised a program later implemented across the country that was the source of the drop. bernie was the fortunate recipient of bratton and maple's program after rudy drove both men from his administration.

here's a recent nyt article with some relevant info:

Among the three experts who gave presentations, the consensus seemed to be that effective policing matters – but not nearly as much as Mr. Giuliani and other city officials (including his successor Michael R. Bloomberg) have claimed.

First, some context. The broken windows theory, pioneered by George L. Kelling and often lumped together with the notion of zero-tolerance policing, holds that aggressive enforcement against minor quality-of-life crimes, like loitering and fare-beating, deters further petty crime and ultimately drives down major crime. Compstat is the computerized system Mr. Bratton and one of his top deputies, Jack Maple, devised to keep track of crime problems and hold police commanders accountable for addressing the most crime-prone areas. ...

Mr. Karmen was more decisive in his presentation, focusing on the role that Compstat has played in driving down crime in New York. He noted that Mr. Giuliani had promised to implement Compstat-like programs across the federal government if elected president.

Mr. Karmen noted that many police departments across the country and even overseas “have adopted a Compstat approach to their daily operations” and added, “A virtual cottage industry has developed as former N.Y.P.D. officials have been hired as consultants to set up Compstat in other departments.” The strategy was seen as so effective, Mr. Karmen noted, that in 1996 Time Magazine called the N.Y.P.D. the “Lourdes of policing.”

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/13/why-did-crime-fall-in-new-york-city/