Peter B. Acritelli states that "Two thirds of the list of homicides in the Tombs are men of Italian birth." And doubtless nine tenths of these are from Sicily, Sardinia or southern Italy, since the natives of northern Italy are not given to crimes of violence; human life being safer in Venice or Florence than in Boston or Philadelphia; more secure in Milan, Turin or Genoa than in Cleveland, Chicago or San Francisco.
The accompanying table shows the comparative security of human life in various cities, and reveals the fact that the life of the average citizen is as safe in New York as in most urban communities.
Table showing the Average Annual Ratio of Deaths by Homicide per 100,000 of Population in Various Cities, based upon Official Reports
| City | Annual Average of Homicides per 100,000 Popu- lation |
Period | |
| Mexico, Mex. | 70.72 | 1899 | |
| Girgenti, Sicily | 40.48 | 1897-1899 | |
| Sassari, Sardinia | 38.64 | 1897-1899 | |
| Lima, Peru | 36.60 | 1899-1900 | |
| La Paz, Bolivia | 33.71 | 1902 | |
| Naples, Italy | 29.23 | 1879-1899 | |
| Lexington, Ky. | 17.77 | 1901-1905 | |
| Kansas, Kan. | 17.64 | 1904-1905 | |
| Louisville, Ky. | 14.85 | 1901-1905 | |
| St. Louis, Mo. | 14.16 | 1900-1904 | |
| Rome, Italy | 13.81 | 1897-1899 | |
| San Francisco, Cal. | 9.00 | 1899-1903 | |
| Chicago, Ill. | 7.03 | 1893-1904 | |
| Turin, Italy | 6.56 | 1897-1899 | |
| Budapest, Hungary | 6.13 | 1895-1901 | |
| Cleveland, O. | 6.12 | 1904-1906 | |
| Genoa, Italy | 5.83 | 1897-1899 | |
| New York, N. Y. | 4.93 | 1904-1906 | |
| Providence, R. I. | 3.59 | 1900-1904 | |
| Baltimore, Md. | 3.39 | 1901-1905 | |
| Milan, Italy | 3.20 | 1897-1899 | |
| Philadelphia, Pa. | 3.27 | 1904-1906 | |
| Boston, Mass. | 3.13 | 1904-1906 | |
| Venice, Italy | 2.82 | 1897-1899 | |
| Newark, N. J. | 1.50 | 1902-1904 | |
| Milwaukee, Wis. | 1.45 | 1898-1904 |
In regard to the reputed increase of highway robbery in Greater New York, the police records would seem to show that no such increase has taken place. In comparing the number of crimes annually committed in New York City, it should be borne in mind that the population increases at the rate of nearly 113,000 yearly. As to the increase of highway robbery, the police court records merely show that the number of such crimes is far greater in some years than in others. This is true of all our great cities. We may note, for example, that there were thirteen times more arrests made in Baltimore for highway robbery in 1903 than in 1901; in Newark, there were fifteen times more arrests
