New York, NY – Mayor: City Has the Third-Fewest Homicides on Record in 2011

    10

    New York, NY – Despite statistics expected to show a slight increase in major crimes by the end of the year, city officials declared Wednesday that New York City’s historic, two-decade decline in crime isn’t over.

    Join our WhatsApp group

    Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


    The latest statistics compiled by the New York Police Department show 104,659 murders, robberies and other serious crimes were reported throughout the five boroughs through Dec. 25 — up 0.4 percent over the same period last year.

    But at a news conference Wednesday touting the city’s public safety record, Mayor Michael Bloomberg argued that “a genuine apples-to-apples comparison shows that serious crime is actually down this year.”

    The explanation: A change in the law in late 2010 reclassified misdemeanor choking offenses to felonies, fueling a 7.6 percent spike in felony assaults — to 18,117 from 16,842 — this year. City and police officials claim the increase has distorted this year’s overall rate.

    Major crimes would be down 1.2 percent under the previous criteria, Bloomberg said.

    “Applying that same consistent yardstick, this is the 21st consecutive year in which major felonies have decreased in our city,” the mayor said.

    City officials also projected that the murder rate — considered in law enforcement circles as the most accurate barometer of crime — will drop at least 4 percent in 2011. There were 499 murders reported through Dec. 25 compared to 523 in the same span in 2010.

    Murders in 2010 were up about 13 percent. But the figure was still the fourth lowest since the department began keeping comparable records in 1962.

    The record low was 471 in 2009, followed by 496 in 2007 and 522 in 2008. In 1990, the last year overall major crime was up, the city had a record high 2,245 homicides.

    Along with assaults, three other major crime categories are up so far this year: Rapes have increased 3.5 percent from last year, to 1,402 from 1,355; robberies 0.5 percent, to 19,352 from 19,262; and grand larcenies 0.4 percent, to 37,773 from 37,606.

    Burglaries have dipped 0.7 percent, to 18,355 from 18,481 and auto thefts have dropped 10.3 percent, to 9,161 from 10,211.


    Listen to the VINnews podcast on:

    iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon

    Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


    Connect with VINnews

    Join our WhatsApp group


    10 Comments
    Most Voted
    Newest Oldest
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    LionofZion
    LionofZion
    12 years ago

    For all of who whine about Bloomy hitting you up for a ticket for this or that, take a look at these figures. We are all far better off than we were 20 years ago. No radio on board, panhandlers everywhere, random violence and you could not safely go out at night. Thank G-d for Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. How many thousands of lives they saved will never be known.

    PowerUp
    PowerUp
    12 years ago

    Your totally confused, rudy? Yes, he gets credit, michael? Hell no

    ALLAN
    ALLAN
    12 years ago

    I won’t say the the Mayor or NYPD isn’t trying hard to get the numbers down…but if you were the victim of any crime reported in 2011 the numbers really don’t mean a damn thing.

    12 years ago

    Those statistics mean bupkis! In the early 1960’s, there were less than 300 homicides per year in the five borough of NYC, and certainly less felonious assaults, robberies, burglaries, auto thefts, etc. I don’t trust the way that the NYCPD juggles the crime statistics. I can tell you from personal experience (seeing detectives record burglary statistics in a Brooklyn precinct), that some of the crime statistics are not to be trusted.

    12 years ago

    To #7 -former Assistant DA- If you would check with the NYCPD, you would see that the homicide rate for the five boroughs in 1960 and 1961, was no more than 300. Case closed!