Following the historic lows of 2016, crime in New York City continues to drop in the first few weeks of the new year.
Several crime categories posted historic lows this January, according to the monthly crime briefing from Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill. Murders are down from 22 in January 2016 to 20 this past January — a drop of 9.1%.
Robberies dropped by 7.5%, from 1,328 to 1,228, when comparing those two month intervals. And there were 1,588 felonious assaults reported in January 2017, compared with 1,679 in January prior — a reduction of 91 crimes, or 5.4%.
“2017 is picking up where 2016 left off, reducing violence and driving crime down further,” said O’Neill. “I am extremely proud the members of the department are maintaining their focus, ensuring the safety of all New Yorkers while targeting the relative few responsible for the majority of violence.”
Overall, there were 7,992 major crimes reported in January, compared to 8,011 in January 2016. That’s a decline of 0.2%.
There were small upticks in three important categories, though: rapes, grand larcenies and car thefts. There were 110 reported rapes in January, compared to 101 in January 2016. Grand larcenies increased by 4.7%, to 3,485 in January 2017, from 3,330 the previous January.
And this January posted 480 car thefts, up from 470 during January 2016.
Still, the first month of 2017 posted the lowest number of murders and shootings in any January since 1993.
“We take every (uptick) seriously,” said de Blasio. “We’re going to put extra attention and extra resources on addressing them. But the overall progress has been outstanding.”
