NEW YORK (PIX11) — Crime in New York city rose nearly 39% in the first month of 2022, NYPD statistics showed, with transit crimes, hate crimes and shootings all showing upticks.
Police recorded 9,566 total crimes in January, compared to 6,905 in 2021. Every mayor index increased, with the exception of murder, which fell to 28 total compared to 2021’s 33 in the same period. Shooting incidents, however, were up nearly 32%.
“The NYPD will forever work to ensure public safety and will never give up this city,” Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. “This is our solemn vow to New Yorkers and to New York City. It remains critical that all partners come to the table in this shared mission to combat gun violence.”
Since the start of the year, six members of New York City’s police force have been shot. Two of those officers, Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, died after a shooting incident in Harlem. The NYPD said it “remains steadfast in its mission to reduce crimes.”
“Keeping New Yorkers safe is the work each New York City police officer signed up to do — despite the all too evident risks — and it is the work the department asks of them,” the NYPD said in a report. “The shared mission of safety and justice is propelling the NYPD to expand its innovative gun violence suppression strategies, which are anchored by long-tern, intelligence-driven investigations.”
Transit crime jumped more than 75%, with 198 incidents total. It’s the biggest increase behind grand auto larceny, which accounted for 1,187 total crimes in January — that’s compared to just 620 incidents last year.
One woman was killed just 15 days into the new year after being pushed onto the tracks in the Times Square subway station, an attack Sewell called a “senseless act of violence.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams outlined his “blueprint to end gun violence” days after Rivera and Mora were shot.
The mayor said his comprehensive plan addresses each cause of gun violence with immediate actions and long-term initiatives. Adams also renewed his call for the federal and state governments to step up their partnerships with the city to reduce gun violence.
President Joe Biden visited the city Thursday, meeting with Adams to discuss solutions to the city’s rise in violent crime.
