For the first time in 2022, the NYPD reported a monthly decrease in crime, with major felonies down 1.2% during November, New York’s Finest announced Monday.
The decrease was largely fueled by declines in two categories that had dogged the NYPD for months: burglary and grand larceny, property crimes that affect thousands of New Yorkers every year. During November, the NYPD reported a 6% decrease in burglaries, with 1,231 break-ins tallied in the month, down from the 1,310 recorded in November 2021; and a 5.5% drop in grand larcenies, with 4,187 such thefts reported, down from the 4,430 incidents tallied the previous November.
Rapes were also down 14.1% this past month, though the NYPD has stated for months that the crime remains grossly underreported. And while murders had increased in November (30 homicides, compared to 25 in November 2021), shootings were down 32.8% last month, with just 80 incidents recorded.
November’s overall decrease reflected a continued, steady drop in crime around New York City in recent months. It was the fourth-straight month in which the NYPD tallied month-to-month declines in total felonies, from 11,619 crimes reported in July to 10,196 in November. Monthly percentage increases had also steadily declined from 30.5% in July, to 26% in August, to 15.2% in September, to 5.9% in October.
Now, for the first time in 2022, the NYPD has an overall crime decrease to report — something which Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell says is a sign of “substantial, tangible progress toward our public-safety goals” and the department’s hard work.
“Every day, the NYPD’s singular focus is the safety and wellbeing of every resident, commuter, and visitor in our great city,” said 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.”
Crime report highlights
- The NYPD credited the overall decline in shooting incidents to its “continued focus on combatting gun violence,” adding that the decrease was “driven by significant reductions in northern Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx.”
- Gun arrests remain at a 27-year high, with another 4,319 firearm-related collars reported in November. The NYPD saw “significant increases” in gun arrests in Queens and the Bronx. More than 6,600 guns have been seized by the NYPD so far this year.
- While murders increased slightly last month, the NYPD continues to report a year-to-date 11.1% decline in homicides this year, with 393 murders tallied so far in 2022. The city’s on track to record about 429 murders this year; by comparison, last November, the NYPD tallied 442 homicides during the first 11 months of 2021.
- The NYPD also recorded 4,013 arrests for major felony complaints during November, a 19% increase from last year. So far in 2022, the NYPD has made 43,764 arrests, representing a 25% jump from the year-to-date tally recorded in November 2021.
- Transit crime also dropped in November by 12.8%, with 205 major felonies recorded in the transit system.
