As recently as two years ago, nearly one in four Americans mentioned crime when they heard the name New York.

None of the guidebooks mentioned the Mafia, crime or poverty, but our Italian friends had talked of little else.

In a series of interviews, New Yorkers who were asked for their advice to the incoming Mayor mentioned drugs and crime more than any other issues.

Once I gave a speech and didn't mention crime at all, and at the end of it, several people accused me of trying to run away from it.

It didn't help the tourist trade to mention crime, until the culprits were dead or captured.

An English-language document prepared by the Okinawa government in May about the problems associated with the bases does not even mention crime.

Indeed, more voters mentioned crime as an important issue than cited taxes, the issue that Mr. Bush's strategists had once thought would be central to the campaign.

I mentioned organised crime and the trafficking of babies towards Western countries.

Stratton argued that the ordinance, adopted in 1998, was justified by the need to protect residents' privacy and deter fraud, mentioning crime only in passing.

At the time it was considered fairly daring to mention crime, since officially the Government pretended that in the well-run Marxist society there were no criminals.