Contrary to what you might have expected, what with the bad economy and all, in 2009 violent crime was low in NYC.
A quarter of the way through 2010, that's changing in a big way.
In Los Angeles the rise is less pronounced, but a still-meaningful 5%.
If you believe leaders in both of these cities, the mystery can be explained by lower city budgets, which mean fewer cops, which means more crime. The math is simple.
Of course, this isn't the story everywhere. Newark's superstar mayor Cory Booker has earned the right to brag that his city went its first murder-free month in nearly four decades during March. Also worth noting is that other violent crime in LA is actually down, so the picture isn't black and white.