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Murders And Rapes Continue To Increase In 2010
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 30, 2010
Modified Oct 1, 2010
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 30, 2010
Modified Oct 1, 2010
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Continuing a trend that has been going on all year, the murder rate has continued to steadily increase throughout the city, and has climbed 13.2 percent overall from this time in 2009. There were 341 murders at this point last year compared with 386 through Sunday; Queens is the borough with the largest increase, up to 73 murders compared with 58 a year ago. There's been an 18.3 percent increase in the Bronx; and its increased 12.2 percent in Manhattan, and 7.4 percent in Brooklyn.
To keep some perspective, the increase in murders this year comes after there were only 466 in 2009, an all-time low since the NYPD started keeping track of murders in 1963. The number of rapes reported is up 13.5 percent, most dramatically in Manhattan, where it's increased a whopping 45.1 percent. The Daily News reports there have been seven rapes in Central Park in the first nine months of the year, compared to none during this period last year. (The 2010 stats on rapes and murders are similar to 2008's stats—PDF)
But could the rape spike have anything to do with the allegations of stat manipulation? The Voice reported that several years ago, a serial rapist went undetected for his first six rapes because patrol supervisors had improperly labeled most of them as misdemeanors. With all of the focus on quotas and Officer Adrian Schoolcraft's lawsuit against the city, could the NYPD have finally started following Bloomberg's assertions, and stopped cooking the books?
Tagged
Bad old Days
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crime
crime stats
murder
murder rate
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rape
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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