New York City Crime Is Not As High As You Think It Is
New York City crime statistics this year revealed that while as whole homicide rates have not increased, crime in most other categories, including assault and larceny, grew exponentially.
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We’ve all seen the shocking videos from New York making news headlines. They come so frequently that it feels like crime is rampant in the Big Apple. But how high are New York City crime rates, really?
One station, ABC7 Eyewitness News, is tracking the crime rates on its website. They keep an eye on multiple crime categories, so you don’t have to. And they compare it against last year’s numbers to help put things in perspective.
Based on the numbers the station is gathering, there is both good news and bad news. So, let’s dive into the good news first. Total homicides so far this year are down from the same period last year.
So far in 2022, there have been 341 homicides, in contrast to 400 for the same period last year. The murder rate per 100,000 residents remains much the same as for the past three years. The news station also examined crime data from local sources and the FBI.
And they discovered that the city ranked 12th in the nation for homicides. So it is not the most dangerous city in the US in this particular category. But that’s where the good news ends.
So far this year, there have been 20,780 assaults in the city. That is a 14.5% increase over last year, which saw 18,147 assaults in the same period. When those numbers get broken down per week, there are nearly 100 more assaults per week than in 2019.
However, not all New York City crime is equal. ABC7 found significant differences in the neighborhoods where felony assault occurred. They broke down the frequency of attacks after analyzing police reports and populated an interactive map for locals to reference.
Closely on the heels of felony assaults are three other New York City crime categories. The 13,866 robberies this year represent a 34.2% increase over last year. The robbery rate per 100,000 is also up significantly over the numbers from the past three years.
With 12,494 burglaries in 2022, residents and businesses have cause for concern. It is a 30.6% increase over 2021, which saw 9,563 burglaries in the same period. And one other New York City crime category has already exceeded the 10,000 mark.
By October 16, when the data got updated, there were 10,724 automotive thefts. It is a 35.7% increase over the 7,900 auto thefts thus far in 2021. And the frequency of thefts is much higher than before the pandemic.
Also up is the number of reported sexual assaults. Last year, by mid-October, there were 1,192 sexual assaults. And this year, we’ve seen an 11% increase, with 1,323 reports.
But the worst New York City crime category is grand larceny. There have been 40,808 grand larcenies this year, compared with 29,028 last year. That represents a shocking 40.6% increase.
Of course, this won’t be news for tens of thousands of victims. And with an average of 1012 larcenies per week this year, there are far too many victims. Even though the number of grand larcenies is jaw-dropping, it clearly represents how dangerous the city has become.
