Index crime for the first half of 2019 has dropped, according to a recent report by the NYPD.
“New York City is the safest big city in America, and it’s as safe as it’s ever been in modern times,” said Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill.
There was nearly a 5.4 percent decline or 2,500 fewer crime complaints this year compared to 2018, according to the report.
In the southern section of Queens, murder was down by 33.3 percent from 21 incidences to 14 in 2019, according to the report. There were 22 percent fewer robberies from 642 to 501 instances.
In 2019, burglaries and grand larceny auto crimes also dropped by 1.6 percent and 7.3 percent, resulting in 486 burglaries and 387 auto larcenies from 494 and 331 incidences last year, according to the report. Shooting incidences and shooting victims also dropped by 20.4 percent and 19 percent.
In 2018, there were 54 shooting victims and 42 shooting incidences compared to 43 and 34 this year.
In the northern section of Queens, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny auto crimes dropped 6.19 percent, resulting in 4,604 crimes from 4,908 in 2018.
The NYPD report also depicted that housing and misdemeanor assaults also dropped by 8.4 percent and 5.6 percent from 107 and 2,269 incidences to 98 and 2,142 incidences, respectively.
“It’s been another record-breaking month for the NYPD and the people of New York City,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “With the close of the first half of the year, we’ve again set a new record-low for crime – but we didn’t get this far to rest on our laurels. Until every person on every street corner feels the effects of being the safest big city in America, there’s more work to do and our officers will continue to rise to the challenge.”
Despite the drop, both sections of Queens still had problem areas.
Southern Queens had an increase in rapes, felony assaults and grand larcenies, according to the report. Transit, housing, petty larcenies, misdemeanor assaults and misdemeanor sex crimes went up.
In 2019, there were 90 rapes, 1,105 felony assaults and 1,468 grand larcenies in southern Queens, according to the NYPD. There were 64 transit crimes, 93 housing crimes, 3,026 petty larcenies, 2,263 misdemeanor assaults and 161 misdemeanor sex crimes.
In northern Queens, murder, transit, petty larceny, misdemeanor sex crimes, shooting victims and shooting incidences had increased.
There were 12 murders, 95 transit crimes, 4,696 petty larcenies, 271 misdemeanor sex crimes, 26 shooting victims and 23 shooting incidences in northern Queens, according to the report.
Throughout the city, rape dropped by two percent but continues to be underreported, according to the report.
Officials want victims of sexual assaults to come forward by reaching out to the NYPD’s Special Victims Division, which has a 24-hour hotline: 212-267-RAPE (7273).
“The hardworking members of the NYPD know that to make our achievements meaningful for everyone we have to make this record-breaking safety a reality in every community we serve,” said O’Neill. “We’re going to do that by continuing to build strong relationships, by relentlessly pursuing those who commit a violent crime, by deploying our resources effectively and by constantly evaluating our performance in an effort to do even better.”
