While murders, assaults, and other violent crimes are on the rise across the nation, New York City saw the major felony crime rate drop significantly. The crime data comes from the tracking system CompStat, which the NYPD first began using in 1993 in order to improve the ability of law enforcement to track incidences of criminal activity and identify crime trends. The most recent CompStat data indicated that there were just over 100,000 major felony crimes committed in NYC last year. This was a 4.1 percent decrease from the previous year and represented the city’s lowest major felony crime rate on record.

Major felony crimes are limited to murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny, and grand larceny of a motor vehicle. These are typically considered the most violent crimes because they are likely to result in serious bodily injury or even death. Although felony crimes were down almost across the board in 2016, there was a slight increase in the number of felony assaults in NYC last year.

NYC Murder Rate Down

The news about the crime rate in NYC is in stark contrast to violent crime data in other major U.S. cities. According to a recent survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal, more than 75 percent of the country’s largest police departments reported a rise in homicides in 2016. Murders were a serious problem in Chicago, which had 762 homicides last year. As a point of comparison, there were just 335 murders in New York City.

The number of murders in NYC was down from 352 in 2015, representing a small decline. However, the total number of homicides in NYC was twice as high in 2000, which saw nearly 700 people get murdered on city streets and in residences. Moreover, there were nearly 2,300 murders in the city in 1990.

Franklin Zimring, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley and the author of a book-length study of New York City crime, took a look at the recent crime data and concluded that the sharp reduction in violent crime is significant and indicates that local law enforcement strategies are working well to prevent homicides before they can be committed. These strategies include an increase in the number of New York Police Department (NYPD) officers patrolling Manhattan streets late at night, as well as targeted patrols that focus on areas of the city where crime is known to occur and on individuals who have a history of illegally possessing handguns and committing robberies.

Officials with the NYPD, including NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill, stated that the reduction in crime can also be attributed to law enforcement efforts to stop repeat offenders. This has meant that NYPD detectives have paid particular attention to the problem of gang violence, which continues to be a problem in the city. In 2016, NYPD officers conducted 41 takedowns against gangs in an effort to prevent gang-related homicides and assaults. O’Neill suggested that the specialized units being utilized to stop gang violence have “redefined what it means to be a police officer in New York.”

 

If you were arrested and charged with a crime in New York, you need a qualified criminal defense attorney on your side. The experienced criminal defense lawyers at the LaDuca Law Firm can help you fight your criminal charges and avoid the most severe penalties. Contact us anytime to schedule a free initial consultation at our office in Rochester, NY.