City and law enforcement officials are touting 2015 as the safest year on record the City of New York, with an overall decrease of 1.7% in crime citywide since the beginning of 2015, though murder, rape and robbery all saw 2 to 6 percent increases.

Overall Crime in NYC Down, Numbers Reveal Troubling Increases

City and law enforcement officials are touting 2015 as the safest year on record the City of New York, with an overall decrease of 1.7% in crime citywide since the beginning of 2015, though murder, rape and robbery all saw 2 to 6 percent increases.

According to press released by the New York City Police Department the overall index crime in the city fell by 1.7% when compared to 2014 and crime since January 2014 has decreased 5.8% overall.

In Crown Heights’s 71st Precinct crime overall dropped 0.13%, but saw an increase of 10% in rapes, 1% in robberies, 15% in burglaries and 17% of grand larceny autos. There were a total of 4 homicides compared to 5 last year.

New York City as a whole saw an increase of 4% in homicides – 340 total compared to 326 last year, a 6% increase in rapes – 1,428 compared to 1,340 last year and a 2% increase in robberies – 16,706 compared to 16,349 compared to last year.

“At this point, 2015 marks the safest year in the modern history in New York City,” said Police Commissioner William J. Bratton. “Since 1993, we have experienced more than a seventy-five percent decrease in crime and an eighty-one percent decrease in murders. Today, we are practicing precision-policing focused on addressing the pockets of crime that remain, while exercising discretion in enforcement and reducing the number of enforcement encounters across the city.”

Housing crime represented 5% of the city’s crime in 2015 and was up less than 1% overall from 2014. Transit crime represented 2% of the city’s total crime in 2015; although up 10% percent in 2015, transit crime is down 5% since January of 2014. Three of five boroughs experienced a decrease in crime.

The shootings that still occur in New York City are predominately committed by those with criminal histories. In 2015, 84% of shooters arrested, 78% of homicide victims, and 79% of shooting victims had a criminal history.

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