Mayor Steve Corbett announced that Floral Park had the lowest reported crime rate on Long Island in 1998 in comparison with all other police departments serving 5,000 or more residents.

The Floral Park index rate of 9.7 per 1,000 was the only department under 10. 0 on Long Island while the total index rate for all departments in Nassau County was 20.6 per 1,000. The major crimes for all police agencies in Nassau County, serving 1,308,423 people, listed 22 murders (covered by the county police, Hempstead Village, Greenport Village and the City of Long Beach); 94 rapes; 1,067 robberies; 1,354 aggravated assaults; 3,509 burglaries; 16,775 larcenies and 4,111 motor vehicles stolen.

"Our village has traditionally been successful in maintaining a low crime rate, with the rate generally ranked in the lowest 20 percent of the police jurisdictions. Our location on the border of New York City would belie our ability to control crime yet a number of factors directly influence crime. These factors include the size of Floral POark at approximately 1 1/2 square miles, the central location of police headquarters, more police per shift than most areas, the low response time for an emergency at between 30 and 45 seconds, a highly trained police force and effective administration, and very vigilant residents," stated the mayor.

Most of the seventeen villages in Nassau County with police forces were fairly close in the crime rate statistics, yet the size of the community was a relevant factor. The larger villages and Long Beach had higher crime rates than the smaller ones. Location also played a role as communities with large state roads and multiple other heavily trafficked roads had a higher crime rate. Freeport had the highest crime rate with an index of 39 per 1,000 followed by Hempstead (31.3), Lake Success Village (30.7), Rockville Centre (24.2), Garden City (23.4), Old Westbury Village (18.7), Long Beach (18.5) and Port Washington District (17.7). Close to Floral Park were Lynbrook (13), Glen Cove and Malverne (tied 10.8).

"Make no mistake: we pay a good tax dollar for our police protection, significantly more than those patrolled by the county. Yet the payback is significant. By having more patrol forces on the streets around the clock, our residents reap a safer community and the knowledge that in times of need, a response is moments away," added Mayor Corbett.