By Elizabeth Keogh, Colin Mixson and Rocco Parascandola
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — New York City homicide and shootings dropped in 2023 for a second straight year, NYPD data show.
There were 380 murder victims last year, an 11% decrease from 2022 when 429 people were killed, Police Department data ending Dec. 24 show.
The NYPD recorded 967 shootings in 2023 compared with 1,277 in 2022, a drop of 24.3%, and there were 405 fewer shooting victims in 2023 compared with 2022’s 1,546, down 26.2%.
Homicides and gun violence spiked after the pandemic, with 488 murder victims in 2021, prompting Mayor Adams and former Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell to roll out a new anti-gun unit in March 2022. In its first week on city streets, the neighborhood safety unit made 31 gun arrests in six days, the Daily News reported at the time.
Murder rates dropped 11% in 2022 from the previous year, though other major crime, which the NYPD classifies as rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny of an auto, together increased 22% that year.
While rape, robbery, burglary and grand larceny were all down in 2023 compared with the prior year, felony assault and grand larceny of an auto both increased last year, data show.
There were 27,299 felony assault incidents in 2023, compared with 25,745 in 2022 — a 6% spike. Grand larceny of an auto jumped 15% last year, with the NYPD warning drivers many thieves are after catalytic converters they can sell for the precious metals inside them.
Crime rates in the city’s subway system were down 2% and homicides were slashed in half last year, with five victims in 2023 compared with 10 in 2022.
Also notable was a 67% decrease in rapes underground, with just four victims last year compared with 12 in 2022.
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