NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York City crime rates continued to drop out of the summer months and into September though he acknowledged challenges lie ahead.
"There are real challenges ahead, particularly for certain parts of the city ... but we saw some real impact," de Blasio said at his morning news conference Wednesday.
The rates of murders and shootings once again declined from September 2020 to this past month, with a 22% decline in murders and 9.3% reduction in shootings. Burglaries also saw a 14.9% decrease for September 2021.
De Blasio praised the efforts by law enforcement to address gun arrests with a 20.9% increase year-to-date, compared to 2020.
"Extraordinary activity — extraordinary success by the men and women of the NYPD."
While overall crime dropped by 0.2% year-to-date compared to 2020, crime increased by 2.6% as compared to September 2020. Robberies increased by 6% as felonious assaults increased by 18.5 %.
However, de Blasio said it's important not to doubt the city's comeback, especially after the pandemic.
"It's a typical thing for certain folks to doubt New York City, our ability to make a comeback or to doubt the NYPD, but the facts speak for themselves," he said. "Total disruption of our society because of the global pandemic — unprecedented. The NYPD has fought back, neighborhood folks have fought back, the city has fought back."
NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea emphasized the need for individuals to get involved in tandem with the NYPD.
"While I applaud their courage and tenacity, the police cannot do this alone," Shea said. "Public safety must be a collective mission. It requires intelligence-based policing, but it also requires a fully functioning court system and meaningful consequences that send a clear message to those who would pull a trigger: expect to be caught, and expect to be held accountable.”
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