It was a violent weekend in Queens: In the span of 12 hours, three people were killed in three separate incidents. 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 ›

Murders have increased 13.2 percent overall this year from this time in 2009, continuing a trend that's been going on all year; one reason for this change may be the decrease in the police force, which is projected to drop below 33,000 through attrition by July 2011, its lowest level since 1990, when it had 32,441 officers (it peaked in October 2000 with over 40,000 officers). But although more cops would obviously help, NYC won't be getting any help in funding from Washington. more ›

Authorities are determining "whether two Bronx immigrants were executed in former Jet linebacker Jonathan Vilma's million-dollar Long Island condo," the Post reports. Last week, two "bullet-ridden bodies" were found in Brooklyn and Queens. The Daily News says, "The killings may have been sparked after a [Bronx] apartment...was robbed by a crew of gun-wielding men who stole a suitcase full of cocaine from [Sekou] Sakor, a Liberian immigrant" (his body was dumped off the Paerdaget Bridge). Another hypothesis, from the AP: The victims may have been involved in "an Internet scam in which people were sold what was purported to be cash smuggled from overseas, stained black to avoid detection, at a discount, only to be given paper." Apparently residents at Eagle Chase heard gunfire last Thursday—and a bullet passed through into a neighbor's apartment. Vilma, who is currently playing for the New Orleans Saints, is not a suspect in the killings, but cops want to ask him about who had access to the residence. more ›

The drownings that two retired NYPD detectives linked to a serial killing spree they claim has been underway for over a decade, is being questioned by both the FBI and police commish Ray Kelly. more ›

New York City is getting safer and safer. Well, at least Manhattan is. Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau told reporters yesterday that there have only been 65 murders in the borough this year, down 40% from last year. When Morgenthau took office in 1975, the borough had 648 murders, accounting for almost 40% of the city's total. The 65 homicides this year account for just 14% of the city total. The 88-year-old DA attributed the drop to "excellent work done by the police and prosecutors." Police stats project the entire city with 500 fewer murders this year, the lowest number since 1963. more ›