Crime in the Big Apple continued to drop again this year, with October being the safest month in the city for the entire CompStat era, according to preliminary data published Tuesday by the New York Police Department.
The department recorded nearly 3,000 fewer index crimes for 2016, a 3.4 percent decrease from 2015. The city also saw a decrease of nearly 10 percent in the number of shootings this year, and almost 6 percent fewer murders than last year.
With 860 fewer crimes on record than October 2015, this year once again had historically low crimes rates. The murder rate dropped more than 32 percent, robberies fell 14 percent and burglaries were down nearly 20 percent. Additionally, felonious assault dropped almost 4 percent, grand larceny fell nearly 6 percent and grand larceny auto last month was down over 11 percent compared with last October.
But not all figures decreased as shootings increased marginally, up nearly 4 percent, and the number of rapes went up by just under 10 percent.
“Building on the momentum we’ve achieved so far in 2016, it is gratifying to see the members of the NYPD reach new crime reduction milestones,” said Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill, adding, “we are poised to remain the safest big city in the nation this holiday season.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio praised residents for taking an active roll in policing and working hand-in-hand with authorities in driving crime rates down.
“It’s these innovative, community-based policing strategies that helped deliver the safest October in the CompStat era, maintaining New York City’s standing as the safest big city in the nation,” de Blasio said.
The statistics released this week mirror findings from a study conducted in September by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. The study analyzed crime rates in the country’s 30 largest cities and included that overall, despite a slight increase this year, crime rates remain at a 30-year low. Additionally, the study found New York to be the safest big city.
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