Crime in New York City

Bushwick in Brooklyn was once one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in New York City

New York City
Crime rates* (2022)
Violent crimes
Homicide5.3
Rape31.8
Robbery211.7
Aggravated assault495.4
Total violent crime744.2
Property crimes
Burglary176.7
Larceny-theft1794.8
Motor vehicle theft169.7
Total property crime2141.2
Notes

*Number of reported crimes per 100,000 population.


Source: New York State Index Crime

Crime rates in New York City have been recorded since at least the 1800s.[1] The highest crime totals were recorded in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the crack epidemic surged,[2][3] and then declined continuously from around 1990 throughout the 2000s.[4] As of 2023, New York City has significantly lower rates of gun violence than many other large cities.[5] Its 2022 homicide rate of 6.0 per 100,000 residents compares favorably to the rate in the United States as a whole (7.0 per 100,000) and to rates in much more violent cities such as St. Louis (64.4 per 100,000 residents) and New Orleans (53.3 per 100,000).[6]

During the 1990s, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) adopted CompStat, broken windows policing, and other strategies in a major effort to reduce crime. The drop in crime has been variously attributed to a number of factors, including these changes to policing, the end of the crack epidemic, the increased incarceration rate nationwide,[2][3] gentrification,[7] an aging population, and the decline of lead poisoning in children.[8]

  1. ^ "217 years of homicide in New York". January 26, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Johnson, Bruce D.; Golub, Andrew; Dunlap, Eloise (2006). "The Rise and Decline of Hard Drugs, Drug Markets, and Violence in Inner-City New York". In Blumstein, Alfred; Wallman, Joel (eds.). The Crime Drop in America. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-86279-0.
  3. ^ a b Karmen, Andrew (2000). New York Murder Mystery: The True Story Behind the Crime Crash of the 1990s. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-4717-9.
  4. ^ Langan; Durose, Matthew R. (December 3–5, 2003). "The Remarkable Drop in Crime in New York City". 2003 International Conference on Crime. Rome, Italy. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  5. ^ "New York City ranks safest among big US cities for gun violence, new research reveals". Phys.org. February 29, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  6. ^ RIT Center for Public Safety Initiatives. "2022 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities" (PDF) (Report).
  7. ^ Barton, Michael S. (September 2014). "Gentrification and Violent Crime in New York City". Crime & Delinquency. 62 (9): 1180–1202. doi:10.1177/0011128714549652. S2CID 144755930.
  8. ^ Drum, Kevin. "America's Real Criminal Element: Lead". Mother Jones. Retrieved April 29, 2014.