NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Major crimes in New York City are dropping compared to January of last year, according to the NYPD citywide crime statistics, except for “lush workers” who often rob drunk or sleeping victims in subways.
In January 2024, compared to the same month last year, crime went down by 2.9%, with a decrease in murders by 25%, rape by 24%, burglary by 19% car theft by nearly 4%, and serious assaults by 1.5%, according to the NYPD.
Arrests for major crimes like robberies went up by 5.7%.
“It is evident that the tremendous work being done by the men and women of the NYPD to confront gun violence head-on continues to drive significant reductions in violence and disorder across many categories,” said Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “These intensive efforts are having ripple effects citywide, and are enhancing quality of life and increasing public safety on a large scale.”
However, citywide robberies increased by 5.4% and grand larceny went up by 0.4% with groups of pickpockets and "lush workers" targeting drunk or sleeping subway riders.
Major crimes on the subway, which make up just 2% of all the city's major crimes, increased by 70 cases (222 compared to 152) in January, according to the report.