NYPD news conference at 1 Police Plaza on Thursday
Even as murders, assaults, robberies, burglaries, rapes and petty larcenies continue to flood the news daily, overall crime is at a record decline—according to the NYPD.
In a press release, NYPD’s top brass declared there have been 19 fewer murders, or -14.4 percent, and 96 fewer shootings, or -22.7 percent; year-to-date compared with 2015. In terms of perspective, there have been 127 murders in all of 2016 thus far.
Overall crime in May 2016 declined 6.1 percent in New York City, compared with the same period last year, including 7 fewer murders, or -19.4 percent; and 50 fewer shootings, or -37.9 percent; making May the safest in the entire Compstat-era. Additionally, there were 192 fewer robberies, 118 fewer felony assaults, 205 fewer burglaries, and 89 fewer auto larcenies in May of 2016, compared with May of 2015. Also for the month of May 2016, rape has increased +16.7 percent, or 20 crimes and grand larceny increased +1.1 percent, or 41 crimes, compared with May 2015.
The press release also maintains that the driving force behind the sustained decrease in violence are strategic takedowns in areas experiencing violence. These long-term investigations have yielded upward of 350 arrests, including some of the city’s most violent and prolific criminals. Additionally, there have been nearly 1,550 gun arrests in 2016 thus far, representing an increase of more than 20 percent compared with the same period in 2015, according to the NYPD stats.
“There is a perception that crime and violence are on the rise in New York. That perception defies reality. We are in the midst of experiencing the safest start to any year I have ever seen—with nearly one hundred fewer shootings and 19 fewer murders through the first five months of the year,” Police Commissioner Bratton said at Thursday’s news conference.
“June is National Gun Violence Awareness Month, and we’re proud to head into the month with an extraordinary drop in gun violence in our city,” Mayor Bill de Blasio added.
