Despite a nationwide war-on-crime campaign and overabundance of news coverage of violent crime in New York City dominating last month’s election cycle, the NYPD reported its fourth straight month-to-month declines in total felonies from 11,619 crimes reported in July to 10,196 in November.
It’s also the first time in 2022 that the NYPD reported a decrease in overall crime year-over-year, which the city’s top public safety officials believe bodes well for the city entering a new year.
“Every day, the NYPD’s singular focus is the safety and well-being of every resident, commuter, and visitor in our great city,” said NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell. “As we near the end of this year, our department is seeing substantial, tangible progress toward our public safety goals — and that is because of the dedicated work of our exceptional officers and civilian members. The women and men of the NYPD have continued to reduce shootings, take illegal guns off our streets, increase arrests to bring justice for crime victims, and improve police-community relationships in every New York City neighborhood.”
The Bronx also saw an overall year-to-year dip in crime of 4.5% and a decline in most major felonies, besides felony assaults which increased by 5%. The agency credited gun arrests in the Bronx and Queens — which they say are at a 27-year high — as one of their focuses to prevent gun proliferation and shootings citywide.
Five Bronx precincts saw a rise in crime in November, with major crime increases occurring in the Bronx’s 41st Precinct (+25%) and the 45th Precinct (+13%). But in some precincts like the 44th and 46th, crime dropped as much as 19% and 26%, respectively.
Although, an incident this week in West Farms in which a gunman shot and wounded four people on the corner of East 180th Street and Daly Avenue as well as the recent shooting of a 14-year-old still have some Bronxites on high alert.
While felonies are down, NYC saw a disturbing 70% rise in hate crimes — namely antisemitic attacks — across New York City’s five boroughs and more than doubled the number of incidents from a year ago, NYPD data revealed on Monday. The concerning rise unfolded against a backdrop of high-profile figures recently making headlines for remarks targeting Jews.
The city’s Jewish, Black and Asian populations have been highly targeted in the rash of hate attacks, according to the NYPD.
