The number of reported felony assaults and rapes in New York City rose last year even as the overall crime rate fell, says Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Shootings fell 7 percent last year compared with 2023, to 903, and there were 377 homicides reported in 2024, the lowest number since 2020. The number of burglaries, robberies, car thefts and larcenies also dropped, Tisch and Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference, reports the New York Times. Two crime categories — sexual assaults and felony assaults, a major crime category defined as an attack in which a dangerous weapon is used or a serious injury results — continued to buck the trend. There were 29,417 felony assaults, the highest number in at least 24 years and a 5 percent increase from 2023. For the mayor, the decline in several crime categories was an opportunity to tout his policies as he is trying to persuade New Yorkers to re-elect him, even as he faces criminal prosecution and a perception that the leadership of the Police Department became dysfunctional under his watch.
“I was clear from Day 1, not only on the campaign trail, but when I became mayor, the prerequisite to our prosperity is public safety, and I was committed to driving down crime,” Adams said. “We’re the safest big city in America. The numbers are clear.” The police department received 1,748 complaints of sexual assault, nearly half of which were connected to domestic violence incidents, Tisch said. The number of reported apes was the highest since 2020, though it was slightly lower than in 2019, when the department received 1,771 complaints of sexual assault. The announcement of a drop in crime comes as headlines have been dominated by terrifying incidents, such as the killing of Debrina Kawam, a 57-year-old woman who was burned to death in a subway train three days before Christmas, and the shooting of 10 people outside a club in Queens on New Year’s Day. Adams acknowledged that reporting a drop in most crime categories may not comfort many New Yorkers who are fearful of being randomly attacked. “These high-profile random acts of violence have overshadowed our success,” he said. “We have to deal with the perception.”
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