There are less than six weeks left in 2010, and the murder, robbery and rape rates have all climbed compared to last year. But according to NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, the overall crime rate is down "about a percent and a half, citywide, the index crimes.” So everything's great, although he did admit “We have seen a spike in murders, rapes and robberies.” So what is down then? Perhaps felonies which have been under-reported as lesser charges, or maybe quotas are just booming this year. The only crime we're in uproar about today is people using their Thanksgiving leftovers for skin care. That is just not right. more ›

More fodder for "bad old days" worrying? According to the Post, crimes in all major crimes were up last week: "There was a 27 percent increase in shootings, bringing the total so far this year to 354. That compares to 296 for the same period last year—an increase of 19.6 percent." more ›

A recent uptick in crime—and startling incidents like the Times Square Easter night "wilding" and yesterday's Brooklyn shooting that wounded three including a five-year-old—has people wondering if the "bad old days" of crime are back. more ›

A day after a Brooklyn cop accused police officers in Bedford Stuyvesant's 81st Precinct of under-reporting crimes and turning away victims in an effort to improve crime statistics, a Queens politician says he's heard the same allegations from other officers—but they won't testify for fear of retribution. more ›

The city is on track for the lowest number of murders since reliable record-keeping began in 1962, according to the Times. As of Dec. 27, there have been 461 murders — 35 fewer than the record set in 2007. Twelve of the city's police precincts in areas ranging from Park Slope to Upper Manhattan recorded just one murder each, while the precinct that covers Central Park didn't log a single homicide, the paper reports. more ›

The City Police Department noted that NYC had seen "325 homicides as of yesterday, putting the city on pace for 457 by year's end," according to the Post. City homicide records are not deemed entirely reliable before the 1960s, and the year is most emphatically not over, but this would be fewer murders than any time since the 1920s. That's right, the Twenties. more ›

The latest NYPD statistics show a rise in crime. The Daily News reports that there were 46 murders through September 28, "compared with 26 through the same date in September 2007." The city has 390 homicides for 2008, compared to the 350 at the same time last year (2007 had 496 homicides--the lowest NYPD-recorded number). Police Commissioner Kelly said the murder rate, even if higher than last year's, would be on track to be the second lowest murder rate, "Would we like to see it lower? Of course. But overall, when you step out and look at the crime picture, it's going very well. " But it's unknown how the economy's decline will contribute to the "crime picture." more ›