NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Murders and shootings in New York City were down in October as gun arrests surged, but overall crime was still up from last year, including felony assaults and robberies, according to NYPD data released Wednesday.
Murders were down 9.8% in October, with 37 in 2021 compared to 41 in 2020. Shooting also dropped by 4.4%, with 129 this year compared to 135 last year.
Murders were down 2% this year through October, with 399 victims in 2021 compared to 407 at this time last year. However, it's still an increase of 42% from the 282 victims during the same time period in 2019.
The declines came amid a spike in gun arrests by the NYPD. There were 382 gun arrests last month, bringing the total number for 2021 up to 3,808, a 13.9% increase compared to the 3,343 during the same period last year.
Mayor Bill de Blasio touted the drop in murders and shootings at his daily briefing, comparing the decline to increases in other U.S. cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. He called it “amazing” that nearly 400 gun arrests were made in October.
“Unfortunately, we’re seeing murder rates going up, we’re seeing more crime and that impact of COVID still a huge problem in many, many cities,” the mayor said. “In this city, real change is happening. We’ve got more to do for sure, but real change is happening. And it’s about precision policing. It’s about neighborhood policing. These approaches work, focusing on where the guns are.”
However, overall index crime in the five boroughs increased by 11.2% in October, with 10,118 major crimes reported this October compared to 9,095 last October. Year-to-date, overall index crime has increased by 1.3% in 2021 compared to 2020 (80,801 v. 79,772).
Among the crimes that saw increases last month was robbery, which was up 15.8% compared to last year (1,450 in 2021 v. 1,252 in 2020). Felonious assault also jumped 13.8% (2,123 in 2021 v. 1,865 in 2020).
Transit crime was up 4.5% in October compared to last year (161 v. 154).
Hate crimes were up 96% year-to-date through Oct. 31. There have been 466 reported this year compared to 238 last year, with the biggest increase—343%—seen in anti-Asian hate crimes.
Meanwhile, burglary dropped 13.7% in October compared to last year (1,231 v. 1,427). There was also a 5.5% drop in rapes (120 v. 127), though the department noted that rapes continue to be underreported.
The NYPD attributed the drop in shootings and homicides to its work building long-term cases with law enforcement partners, as well as a focus on the “drivers of violence.”
“This is the precision-policing philosophy at work,” the department said in a press release announcing the new crime data.
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