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‘We've had highs and lows’: Shootings, homicides in NYC dropped last year, but overall crime rose
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
Isidoro Rodriguez
Published Jan 5, 2023
Modified Jan 6, 2023
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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
Isidoro Rodriguez
Published Jan 5, 2023
Modified Jan 6, 2023
Share
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New York City ended 2022 with a 23% rise in major crimes, despite a drop in both shootings and homicides, according to the latest crime data.
But during a press conference on Thursday at Police Headquarters, Mayor Eric Adams and police officials pointed to recent data as evidence that crime was beginning to decline. Between October through November, overall index crime — murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, grand larceny, and auto theft — fell slightly.
“We’re leaving 2022 where crime is trending downwards,” Adams said.
The latest crime data capped off what many experts have described as a year of mixed results. Adams has made tackling crime, which soared early during the pandemic, the central priority of his administration.
On Thursday, Adams and police officials argued that there were signs that the city had begun to turn the corner. They pointed out that despite the overall increase in crime, the percentage rise was still well below where the city started. At the beginning of 2022, major crimes soared 45% above the previous year.
Citywide, shootings were down by 17% in 2022 compared to the prior year, with every borough experiencing declines. Murder was also lower — by 11%. And while subway crime was up by nearly 30% in 2022 over the previous year, the numbers were down compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic. Overall, the chances of falling victim to crime on the subway remain low.
The Bronx saw the largest decrease in shootings in the city, according to police officials. Thirty percent of all gun arrests in the city come from the borough.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that the police had “steadily and diligently cut into” increases in crime during the year, adding, “We knew we would not turn this city on a dime.”
Shootings and homicides in New York City fell in the last three months of 2022 compared to the same period last year, but other major crimes such as rape and assault rose, according to the data.
The number of burglaries and grand larcenies, which has been driven by shoplifting, both dropped in the fourth quarter. Both had experienced double-digit percentage increases earlier in the year.
Police also said they seized over 7,000 illegal guns by the end of 2022.
Sewell credited several strategies, including the new anti-gun teams, the deployment of additional police on the subways, an increased number of investigators, and more foot patrols by police in commercial districts.
“We've had highs and lows,” she added. “But these decreases represent people, fewer victims and a safer city.”
The press conference came on the same day that the mayor was expected to attend a public safety summit hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton. The event will include several Albany lawmakers of color, including Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
Adams is seeking another round of reforms to the state bail laws, which he has sought to connect to the increase in crime. But Heastie and Stewart-Cousins have both rejected that claim.
However, the mayor said he met with both lawmakers last week and they had a productive conversation.
“There's a belief that we are rivers apart, and we just aren't,” he said.
This story has been updated.
Tagged
new york city
nypd
Crime Statistics
Politics
eric adams
news
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Isidoro Rodriguez
Isidoro Rodriguez 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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