New York City residents are blaming an influx of migrants in the city for the crime rate, a new poll found, as NYPD stats show that crime has fallen this year.
On Friday, a new poll, conducted exclusively for Newsweek by Redfield & Wilton Strategies of 974 eligible voters in New York City, asked an array of questions about issues facing the city and the nation overall, including how they feel about the current crime rate and if they feel the influx of migrants is having an impact.
According to the poll, over 70 percent blamed migrants in the city for the current crime rate, with 41 percent saying immigration is having a “significant” impact and 31 percent saying a “fair amount” of impact. The poll found that 18 percent said immigration is having a “small” impact and 10 percent said it is having no impact at all.
Earlier this month, the New York Police Department (NYPD) released new citywide crime data for the month of April and said: “Overall index crime across New York City dropped another 4.9 percent in the month of April compared to the same month last year.”
NYPD officials reported a decline in crimes such as murder, grand larceny-auto, burglary and felony assault.
“Importantly, April saw another 15.5 percent decrease in shooting incidents (60 vs. 71), equating to a 13.8 percent decline in shooting victims (69 vs. 80). Year to date through the end of April, 65 fewer people were shot in New York City, an 18.7 percent decline over the same period last year, and 21 fewer people were murdered, a 15.9 percent reduction,” the NYPD said.
Despite a decline in overall crime in the city, in February, several NYPD officials were attacked by a group of undocumented migrants, prompting outrage from many.
“WANTED for ASSAULT: on 1/27 at approx 8:30 PM, individuals kicked & punched police officers in the head & body when officers were effecting an arrest in front of 220 W 42nd Street. The individuals fled on foot towards 7th Ave,” NYPD News wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in February.
This month, the New York Post reported that six of the migrants arrested in connection with the attack of the NYPD officers in Times Square were offered plea deals.
Similarly, last month, WNYW-TV in New York reported that eight migrants were arrested after they were found squatting in a Bronx residence.
On March 27, the NYPD received a report that a person had a firearm in the 3000 block of Hull Avenue in the Bronx. A search warrant of the basement apartment revealed two additional firearms and a “large quantity of a controlled substance,” an NYPD spokesperson told Newsweek.
Newsweek previously reported that six of the eight migrants arrested on gun and drug charges were released without bail.
“As the migrant numbers have increased, the overall crime rate has stayed flat. That’s not to say that the over 170,000 that have arrived in our beloved New York City are boy scouts and girl scouts,” Jay Oliver, LI News Radio host and political commentator, told Newsweek via email.
“There have been specific instances that those who are here illegally have created havoc on the streets. One notably with the two cops that were assaulted in February by a mob of migrants and then only to be let go without bail. Hence, Let go without bail; the main culprit of recidivism and criminal activity.”
Former FBI Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told Newsweek that “we are clearly seeing rises in criminal activity and violent criminal activity,” in regard to a rise in migrants in some states across.
In highly populated areas like New York, Coffindaffer said there are likely to be “more instances” of violent crime and said “it’s reflected in the concern of their citizens.”
In February, the New York City Comptroller’s Office issued a statement saying: “Since the spring of 2022, New York City has welcomed tens of thousands of migrants seeking asylum and shelter. The influx of new migrants led Mayor Eric Adams to declare a state of emergency in October 2022.”
Since last spring, the city has taken in more than 175,000 migrants. Immigration remains a major political issue ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Last month, Adams called the migrant issue “one of the largest humanitarian crises this city has ever experienced.”
Newsweek reached out to the NYPD via email for comment.
Read the full article here
