Crime is soaring in NYC according to a report by the NY Police Department.
For the month of July, the number of overall shooting incidents increased in New York City compared with July 2021, highlighting the continuing need to eradicate gun violence and end the perception among criminals that there are no consequences for violent crimes. Citywide shooting incidents increased by 13.4% (178 v. 157), driven by upticks in Brooklyn, southern Queens, and Staten Island. Additionally, the number of murders citywide increased for the month by 34.3% (47 v. 35) compared to the same period last year.
In its continuing effort to stop New Yorkers from being victimized by violence, the NYPD has seized more than 4,300 firearms year-to-date in 2022. At the same time, citywide gun arrests through July are at a 27-year high, rising to 2,752 – which is a 2.4% increase compared with the 2,687 gun arrests through the first seven months of 2021. Additionally, NYPD officers in July 2022 made 4,017 arrests for complaints of major felony crimes, an 18.2% increase over the 3,398 arrests for major felonies in the same month last year. Arrests for major felonies are up nearly 29% so far in calendar 2022, compared with the first seven months of 2021.
Overall index crime in New York City increased in July 2022, by 30.5% compared with July 2021 (11,619 v. 8,906). Six of the seven major index-crime categories saw increases, driven by a 40.6% increase in grand larceny (4,588 v. 3,262), a 37.2% increase in robbery (1,730 v. 1,261), and a 25.6% rise in burglary (1,325 v. 1,055).
“We know that any crime increase in our city is wholly unacceptable,” said Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. “Everyone who lives, works, and visits here deserves to be safe, and the members of the NYPD will tolerate nothing less – but we cannot do it alone. When violent criminals are willing to carry illegal guns on our streets and brazenly shoot at innocent people, they must face real consequences. And when rampant, revolving-door recidivism erodes the public’s trust in the criminal justice system, we must make efforts to refocus that system on what matters most: the victims. All of us need to be pulling in the same direction, so that we can best deliver on the public-safety promise we make to every New Yorker, every day.”
The precision-policing based enforcement that was carried out in July 2022 continues the NYPD’s mission to keep people safe and hold criminals accountable for their crimes. That work has driven an 8.7% reduction in shootings year-to-date – with 63 fewer shooting victims through the first seven months of 2022 compared to the same period last year – and a 4.2% decrease in murders year-to-date through the end of July.
This summer, the NYPD is continuing its work to develop and investigate intelligence-based, long-term cases focused on the few New Yorkers willing to pick up a gun and use it. Much of this work is carried out in concert with the department’s law enforcement partners, illustrated by the recent takedown of a violent Trinitarios street crew by our NYPD investigators working alongside the U.S. Attorney’s office, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The NYPD’s Gun Violence Suppression Section continues to build strong cases by locating and seizing illegal firearms – and in many instances removing them before they can ever be sold on New York City’s streets.
