Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC Was Safer In 2015 Than 2014
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 27, 2015
Modified Dec 28, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 27, 2015
Modified Dec 28, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
After a year filled with people saying the city was going to hell in an artisanal handbasket due to Mayor de Blasio dithering instead of leading, end-of-the-year crime statistics reveal that NYC was safer in 2015 than 2014.
Overall crime dropped by two percent from last year. The Times reports on the stats:
The Police Department is reporting a 2 percent decline, as measured by seven major felonies that are tracked by the Federal Bureau of Investigation: murder, rape, robbery, serious assault, burglary, grand larceny and car theft. At the same time, arrests recorded by officers fell steeply, to 333,115 through Dec. 20, down 13 percent from 384,770 over the same period the year before. The number of criminal summonses dropped to 292,372 from 358,948.
There was a slight uptick in murders, with 339 as of Dec. 25th compared to the historic low of 333 in 2014, but a lot of cynical prognosticators have been proven very wrong about the return of the Bad Old Days. This of course doesn't mean things are perfect—the homelessness and affordable housing crises are still major issues—but it also means the city isn't one step away from total chaos.
"As we end this year, the City of New York will record the safest year in its history, its modern history, as it relates to crime," said Commissioner Bratton said last week during an NYPD promotion ceremony.
Of course, the writing was on the wall for those who were paying attention, and not just creating psychosexual countdown clocks because "crime is spiking," which, if you read the above report, is not true.
But of course, you can't reason with some people using facts: the Post reported just last month that "the number of killings [is] skyrocketing more than three times over last year." Just a few days ago, they let Ray Kelly act as their spokesperson, claiming that the NYPD "is manipulating crime statistics," which is certainly something Kelly was never accused of when he was police commissioner.
Tagged
Bad old Days
crime
murder rate
nypd
police
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Plan to modernize NYC's diesel-spewing produce market falls apart under Mamdani
Bronx officials are scrambling to try to salvage a transformative project worth $650 million.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 29, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. ET
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
News
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .