NYâ€™s Post-Mike crime rate: Will it start shooting up?

The Issue: How the mayoral election will affect crime, since many candidates want to curb stop-and-frisk.

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Mayor Bloomberg's strong resolve to keep stop-and-frisk and block the inclusion of an IG to look over the NYPD's intelligence-gathering is wise, confirming his interest in our safety ("Après Mike, Le Déluge," Editorial, May 1).

This particular issue proves that while he is a politician, he is nevertheless paternal in his concern toward our habits, like smoking and the huge, unnecessary quantities of what we ingest.

People resist having personal choices made by a governmental official, regardless of whether the outcome would benefit their health.

WireImage

Mayor Bloomberg

It is natural that Bloomberg has aroused the ire of many New Yorkers, which is overshadowing his accomplishments — the safety of a city he loves and the people who inhabit it.

Antonietta Mainenti

Bronxville

It appears that the current crop of mayoral candidates is more interested in appealing to the left-wing, police-hating fringe than in protecting the citizens of the world's greatest city.

Lenny Chiat

Pomona

We shouldn't just assume Bloomberg will leave office of his own volition. It will take an exorcism to get him out.

Bloomberg receives way too much credit. Crime was already on a steady decline when he took office, as was smoking. The mayor rides waves, then claims them as his own.

The stop-and-frisk program is great, unless you happen to be the poor soul they're stopping and frisking just because you can't afford to live in a better part of town.

The policy is a direct, blatant violation of the Fourth Amendment.

The police have always had the right to stop and search a suspect as long as they have reasonable suspicion. Stop-and-frisk simply removes the reasonable part.

If you're wealthy, Bloomberg has been a great mayor. If you're not, he seems cruel, petty and heartless.

Gary Taustine

Manhattan

Thanks to New York City's stop-and-frisk program, death by guns has dropped from 524 in 2000 to 366 in 2011. There are 158 people who stay alive each year thanks to the program.

President Obama is supporting new gun laws by saying that if they save only one child's life, it would be worth it.

The deaths from gun violence in New York City are half the national average. If Obama is serious about saving lives, he should be campaigning to implement stop-and-frisk nationwide. It has the potential of saving thousands of lives and getting countless guns off our streets.Tom Lienhard