The Massive Apple noticed a 2% drop in main crime within the first few months of the fiscal 12 months — together with a dip in transit crime, an early peek at Mayor Eric Adams’ annual report revealed.
The Adams administration is predicted to tout a 7% drop in transit crime, a 9% discount in automotive thefts, 3% fewer grand larcenies, a 4.8% lower in robberies and a 2.8% dip in burglaries from July to October of final 12 months in comparison with the identical time interval in 2023, in response to a Metropolis Corridor supply.
“Our administration is concentrated on making New York Metropolis the most effective place to boost a household, and meaning making our metropolis safer and extra reasonably priced, in addition to enhancing high quality of life for working-class New Yorkers,” Adams mentioned.
“From stopping crime in our parks to cracking down on automotive thefts to creating the subway system safer, we’re delivering on that mission and making certain New York Metropolis stays the most secure massive metropolis within the nation.”
The leaked knowledge comes from the Preliminary Mayor’s Administration Report. The total report is ready to be launched Thursday afternoon and can present a report card for metropolis providers.
“The info exhibits that there have been fewer victims of main crimes from July to October — and hundreds fewer victims of main crimes in the whole 12 months as total crime was down in 2024 — however we stay centered on the work that also must be completed to proceed to make sure New Yorkers each are secure and really feel secure,” Adams mentioned.
The announcement comes as New Yorkers are reeling from ugly crimes that captured headlines and put Massive Apple residents on excessive alert.
Final month, a sleeping subway rider burned to loss of life on an F practice in Coney Island after a madman threw a lit match onto her, inflicting her to burst into flames on a Sunday morning.
A madman used a hammer to bash a teen’s tooth after the sufferer refused to surrender his seat for a girl on a D practice within the Bronx Monday, cops mentioned.
That very same day, a vagrant with two open instances was arrested for allegedly throwing a feminine straphanger into an incoming A practice in Manhattan, in response to cops.
Whereas knowledge over the previous three or 4 years would possibly present metropolis subway crime slowing or staying the identical, the identical knowledge exhibits complete subway violence is up over the previous 10 years, in response to a examine by Aaron Chalfin, a criminology professor on the College of Pennsylvania.
“I believe once you see information tales that say violent crime has been fairly fixed, it’s most likely as a result of persons are referencing the final couple years, the place issues have form of evened out a bit bit. However over the longer span, we do see the violence developing,” he informed The Publish.
On a per-rider foundation, violent crimes — which embody homicide, rape, theft and assault — have practically doubled since 2014. Then, about one violent crime occurred per 1 million riders whereas in 2024, about 2.5 violent crimes per 1 million straphangers occurred, Chalfin mentioned.
What he discovered most fascinating from his examine is that assault crimes are driving the uptick in subway crime, and there’s no “acquisition motive” behind the assaults.
“You see this with respect to homicides. It was that plenty of homicides have been motivated by gangs combating over unlawful markets, robberies gone flawed, and in the present day, a big, massive share of the homicides are actually interpersonal disputes that haven’t any nexus to monetary motives or identical to a really tenuous nexus at finest,” he defined.
Since 2009, subway assaults have tripled whereas instrumental crimes, resembling theft, have dropped, in response to Chalfin’s examine.
His knowledge confirmed a really robust hyperlink between individuals who commit violent crimes and psychological well being and homelessness.
For a part of his examine, Chalfin analyzed NYPD knowledge from 2023 to 2024. It confirmed that of the individuals who had been arrested within the subway 4 or extra occasions with not less than one of many arrests being for a violent crime, 80% have been documented as having a psychological well being situation and 90% have been homeless sooner or later.
“So I believe there’s one thing occurring even deeper than simply what’s occurring within the New York Metropolis subway.”