The 2010 murder rate, as we've discussed, was up 13% last year overall. But disturbing new statistics from the NYPD reveal that the murder rate involving African-American victims increased last year by 31%. At the same time the percentage of white murder victims decreased by 27%. more ›

As expected, the NYPD's overall crime rate was down for 2010, but murders, rapes and robberies were up. According to NY1, "the city recorded 526 murders this year, up from 471 in 2009 - a 13 percent increase." The 471 was a record low in the "modern NYPD record keeping" era (the previous record was 496 in 2007; the peak was 1990's 2,245 murders). more ›

Add four more victims to this year's murder tally, which totaled 450 at the end of last month, up 15% from last year. Shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday, 27-year-old Matthew Gray was shot in the head in a driveway in Cambria Heights, a neighborhood in Queens near the Nassau border. Witnesses told police "they heard an argument about money followed by the sound of shots," the Wall Street Journal reports. No arrests have been made, and the carnage continued later that night in Coney Island. more ›

Continuing a trend that has been going on all year, the murder rate has continued to steadily increase throughout the city, and has climbed 13.2 percent overall from this time in 2009. There were 341 murders at this point last year compared with 386 through Sunday; Queens is the borough with the largest increase, up to 73 murders compared with 58 a year ago. There's been an 18.3 percent increase in the Bronx; and its increased 12.2 percent in Manhattan, and 7.4 percent in Brooklyn. more ›

Despite the overall crime rate being down 1% over the first half of the year, the latest crime statistics released by the NYPD reveal that the stats of six out of the seven major felonies has increased in 2010. more ›

A reader wrote on Gothamist Contribute, "Crime rate down again (almost 9%) last week compared to last year. How come Gothamist doesn't report this but breathlessly writes about a fictional return to the 'bad old days'?" Well, for starters, the crime rate wasn't actually down 9% compared to last year—the -9% number appears to be the murder rate comparing year-to-date 2010 to year-to-date 2009—and the murder rate is actually up 11.2% over last year and the rate for rape complaints is up 15.8% over last year. 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 ›

Yesterday, after the Daily News reported that NYC crime rates for murders and shootings have increased 22.8% and 16.3%, respectively, in the last year, Mayor Bloomberg took up the topic during John Gambling's radio show. And guess what—he says that it's totally due to the decreasing number of cops due to budget cuts! Bloomberg said, "It is worrisome." more ›

Remember how there are worries that budget cuts could pressure the NYPD to trim its force and crime would rise? Well, couple that with this: The Daily News reports, "The citywide murder rate has increased 22.8% in the first 11 weeks of the year over the same period in 2009, from 79 homicides to 97 as of Sunday, the most recent day for which statistics are available. Shootings in general are also up citywide, with 293 people hit by bullets this year, a 16.3% change from the total of 252 recorded by March 21 last year." 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 ›

Last week, the FBI released its Crime in the United States 2007 statistics, showing that violent crime fell in 2007. However, Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly pointed out that NYC was almost entirely responsible for that downward trend. Bloomberg said, "Without the 17 percent decline in murders in New York City, murder nationwide would have been flat, not down" (murders in NYC dropped from 596 in 2006 to 496 in 2007). Also, NYC's drop in robberies contributed to 75% of the nation decline in robberies. NYC is the safest major city, with 2,432.3 crimes per 100,000 people and, out 245 cities with populations over 100,000, NYC was 230th between Santa Clarita, CA and Rancho Cucamonga, CA (most dangerous are Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Phoenix and Philadelphia). more ›