Peter R. Orszag, Director, OMB: “The economic downturn imposes significant costs on families. But does it also increase crime? Mayor Bloomberg recently mentioned to me that crime in New York City has declined despite the ongoing recession – which seemed surprising to me, so I looked into it a bit more. Homicide in New York City is indeed down 23 percent so far in 2009, and crime overall is down 13 percent. On the other hand, some experts believe crime will increase as the recession continues because “offenders feel a sense of desperation and believe there is no hope to improve their situation.” So what are the facts?”