How much do you know about New York City crime? Although many people believe that the crime rate is high in the city, few people can cite the actual statistics. Take a look at some of the New York City crime statistics and find out how it compares to what you know about the city.
History of Crime in New York City
New York City in the sixties was a rapidly growing city. With that rise in population came a rise in crime. In 1963, there were over 500 murders in the city. That number jumped to 746 in 1967 and was over 1000 in 1969.
Crime continued to be an issue in the city. In 1977, a city blackout sparked riots that resulted in over 3,700 arrests and $300 million dollars in damages. Crime continued to be a problem, with subway crimes contributing to much of the city’s crime rate. There were about 250 felonies each week in New York City’s subway system.
Things didn’t improve in the early eighties. In 1980, crack became a problem in the city. The highly addictive drug led to crimes between drug dealers and theft by junkies looking for their next fix. With more drugs on the street and a high unemployment rate, the city had some major issues with crime.
When things started to change
New York City crime hit an all-time high in 1990. That year, there were 2,245 murders in the city. People began to recognize that the high crime rate was an issue that officials needed to deal with. The city’s new police commissioner took the problem to heart and took action to lower crime. Soon after his appointment, he applied the Broken Windows policy, which factors in the connection between quality of life and crime. The policy is based on a theory that states that a building with many broken windows in more likely to experience vandalism than one with no broken windows.
Almost immediately, the policy seemed to work. By 1994, there were 1,561 murders in the city. That number continued to decline, and there were only 633 murders in 1998. After that, the trend continued, and there were 414 murders in the city in 2012. For the first time in New York’s history, there was one day of the year with no stabbings, shootings, or murders.
Crime Today
While crime has drastically decreased in the city over the years, crime is still a problem. There were 179,948 violent crimes or property crimes in the city in 2015 (down almost 3% from the previous year).
That said, the crime rate in the city is at its lowest rate. There were 998 shootings in the city in 2016, which is an all-time low. A 12% drop from 2015, the statistic is even more impressive when you consider that many other cities saw an increase in crime. And even the murder rate dropped. In 2015, there were 352 murders. But in 2016, there were 335. Although that’s slightly higher than the 333 murders in the city in 2014, the statistics still show that New York City crime is becoming less of a problem.
How does New York City crime compare to other cities?
In 2016, murders in big cities throughout the US increased. New York is one of the few cities to see an improvement in crime. In Chicago, 2016 was the worst year for murders and shootings. There were over 750 murders, and 4,300 people were shot last year. In fact, there were more murders in Chicago than both New York and Los Angeles together.
When you compare the crime statistics to many other cities in the US, New York city still comes out looking good. For the year 2014, New York city had a lower violent crime rate than Baltimore, Kansas City, Detroit, Oakland, and Cleveland- just to name a few. With a crime rate of 596.7, the city ranked and still ranks well among other cities.
The city’s murder rates also compare well. With a murder rate of 3.93 in 2014, New York beat out Los Angeles (with a 6.66% murder rate) and was significantly lower than Chicago’s rate of 15.09. So, although New York City may not have the best crime rates in the nation, it does have numbers that beat out many other large cities.
What current factors affect the crime rate?
You know a little about the history of New York crime, but you may be wondering why things are the way they are in the past decade or so. For one, there has been a campaign against gangs. In 2016, New York city saw one of its biggest gang takedowns. Overall, gang shootings and gang-related deaths are less frequent in the city today.
Another important factor is the focus on tracking crime patterns. The city has made some changes to improve the way that crime patterns are analyzed.
With less than 102,000 major New York City felonies in 2016, things are looking up for the city. New York is no longer a hotbed for crime. But if you happen to be on the wrong end of a crime, you should contact a criminal defense lawyer to help you.
