NYPD: Most serious crime down in New York City from last year, but felony assaults, robberies are up

Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD brass reported serious crime was down substantially in the city and in the subways this year compared with the same period in 2023. But they acknowledged they are being dogged by the public perception that transit crime remains high.

Reporting crime data for the first quarter of 2024 at a news conference, NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said the city saw decreases in five of the seven major felony categories, including reductions in murder, rape, burglary, grand larceny and auto theft. The drop amounted to a 2.4% reduction in major felonies for the quarter compared to 2023, Caban said.

The city also saw a reduction in shootings in all five boroughs, continuing a trend seen in past few years, Caban said.

In the first quarter, murders dipped 17.2%, rapes were down 3.7%, burglaries decreased 14%, grand larcenies were down 2% and auto theft decreased by nearly 10%, according to NYPD data.

But robberies increased in the quarter 4.3% and felony assaults, which have been a problem for many months, increased 3.8%, the data showed.

Adams noted after a shaky start with increased subway crimes in January, serious felonies in the transit system were off 15% in February and 24% in March compared with a year ago.

Adams took the drop in subway crime as an important step in trying to improve the city’s economic lifeblood. But he admitted there were nagging problems including with the way the rest of the criminal justice system is not working properly.

“Recidivism, recidivism, recidivism,” Adams said. “ A small number of people are committing a large number of crimes.

“In fact the city is not out of control, we are the safest big city in America,” Adams said, repeating a theme he has used for months.

But chief of crime control strategies Michael LiPetri said the overall criminal justice system appears dysfunctional, a “broken system” which he said has been impacted by bail reform and onerous discovery rules burdening prosecutors.

“Career criminals are leveraging the current system,” LiPetri said. “Career criminals and recidivists know about bail reform, they know about judges not giving bail, they know about discovery The system has shifted in their favor.”

Chris Herrmann, associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the increase in assaults and robberies are impactful because each incident represents someone who has been victimized.  

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.