The New York Police Department (NYPD) is celebrating a fall in crime over the past year, but the city has experienced a rise in the number of reported rapes and murders at the same time.
A statement from the NYPD released on November 7 said: “New York City marks 10th month of dramatic crime reductions as majority of categories see ongoing drops in violence and disorder.”
However, the chart at the bottom of the press release tells a different story. While robberies, burglaries, grand larcenies, and felony assault reports are down from October 2023, reported rapes have risen by 30 percent, from 123 to 160, and reported murders have risen by 20.9 percent, from 24 in last October to 29 this year.
One gruesome October 2024 murder in the city occurred in The Bronx where the New York Post reported on a man suspected of killing his own mother and his stepfather before taking his own life.
This data is consistent across the past year, as in September while the city saw a fall in murders from the previous year, it saw another rise in rape, going from 123 in September 2023 to 170 in September 2024.
In fact, every single month this year, except for January, has seen a more reported rapes within New York City than the year before, even as other crimes statistics have fallen.
Rape rates in the city have not changed much since 2019, where there were 155 reported rapes in the city that October.
Murder rates were also up in July of 2024, rising from 38 in July 2023 to 44 in July 2024.
Newsweek has emailed the NYPD for comment.
The NYPD has employed various tactics to reduce its other major crimes across the past ten months. Interim Commissioner Thomas G. Donlon said in the organization’s November press release: “The men and women of the NYPD consistently welcome new ideas and embrace emerging technologies that are aimed at reducing violence and disorder in New York City.
“In addition to these innovative approaches, our traditional crime-fighting strategies have also proven highly effective, as evidenced by the success of our proactive enforcement efforts, particularly in the transit system.”
Donlon added: “The presence of uniformed police officers on subway platforms and in train cars has instilled a sense of safety among riders, and this is further supported by crime data. I am deeply impressed by the unwavering dedication and determination exhibited by our officers throughout our city, day and night.”
Although Donlon stated that increased police presence on subway platforms and emerging policing technologies are making New Yorkers feel safer, not all New Yorkers feel the same.
We Deserve to Be Safe, a report on community safety written by the activism group Communities United for Police Reform (CUPR), said: “Many people living in highly policed neighborhoods want New York to reconsider what constitutes safety, how it is produced and who helps produce it. They are asking for a fundamental transformation in how safety is achieved in neighborhoods.”
The report, which surveyed 3,300 people across all five boroughs through community-based surveys and town halls, goes on to discuss how people in heavily policed neighborhoods are afraid of the NYPD, with 70 percent of respondents saying that they “feared calling or approaching the NYPD for help because it would make the situation worse or lead to unnecessary violence.”
CUPR said the New York City residents surveyed would prefer the city to invest in non-policing methods for community safety rather than adding more cops to the streets or the subway.
New York City has been preoccupied in recent months with other criminal cases beyond the NYPD, namely the charges brought against the city’s mayor, and former NYPD captain, Eric Adams.
Adams, who is still in his position as Mayor, is undergoing a corruption case and is faced with five charges including bribery after allegedly taking $100,000 in travel perks and campaign contributions from the Turkish government.
Newsweek has emailed Mayor Adams for comment.
If you are a victim of sexual assault in the New York City area, please come forward to the NYPD. The 24-hour NYPD Special Victims Division hotline is: 212-267-RAPE (7273).
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