NYC crime wave: Shootings increase by 166 percent last month compared to August 2019 and murders are up by 47 percent
Shootings in New York City were up 166 percent last month compared to August 2019, according to police crime statistics released Wednesday.
The Big Apple has seen a troubling spike in crime and violence this year, and new data shows there were 242 shootings recorded last month. In August 2019 there were just 91 shootings recorded.
The number of shootings rose in all boroughs except Staten Island.
The number of murders is also up citywide, increasing from 36 in August 2019 to 53 last month, marking a 47 percent rise.
Overall, crime for August 2020 increased from 9,033 reported last year to 9,093 – a .7 percent increase.
The small increase in overall crime is due to a 17.5 percent reduction in grand larcenies. Rapes also decreased by 22 percent, but the NYPD warns that rape continues to be underreported.
Shootings in New York City were up 166 percent last month compared to August 2019, according to police crime statistics released Wednesday. The number of shootings rose in all boroughs except Staten Island
The number of murders is also up citywide, increasing from 36 in August 2019 to 53 last month, marking a 47 percent rise
Robberies climbed four percent this year with 1,276 robberies reported last month. In August 2019 there were 1,226 robberies reported.
Burglaries have also risen 22 percent. Last month 1,310 burglaries were recorded, a jump from 1,076 reported in August 2019.
'Despite all the continuing challenges, our NYPD officers are undaunted,' Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said.
'The work of our officers represents the best of the policing profession, and it continues as they increasingly engage with all of our community partners to protect life, prevent crime and build safer neighborhoods,' he added.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea spoke on CNN on Tuesday where he said police response times are down and he slammed the movement to defund the police
NYPD cops are out there — going into harm’s way, sometimes getting hurt, protecting New Yorkers. It’s what they do every single day and night.
— Commissioner Shea (@NYPDShea) September 1, 2020
Thanks, @jimsciutto, for having me on today. pic.twitter.com/7vh8Zrrz2a
NYPD cops are out there — going into harm’s way, sometimes getting hurt, protecting New Yorkers. It’s what they do every single day and night.
Thanks, @jimsciutto, for having me on today. pic.twitter.com/7vh8Zrrz2a
Shea spoke on CNN on Tuesday where he said police response times are down and he slammed the movement to defund the police.
He said police response times are down because officers have been pulled off normal duty to help in protests across the city.
'You have the whole defunding movement which literally Jim – thousands of cops off the street…I think it’s cheap theater, I think it's politics, what we need is people to stand up and say good job, thank you,' he said.
'The cops are out there. They were up on the Upper West Side last night taking drug dealers off the streets, the cops are out there,' he added.
The movement to defund police departments gained traction with a string of police killings this year including that of George Floyd in Minnesota and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky.
A local lights a candle at a memorial for 25-year-old Priscilla Vasquez, a mother of three who was shot in the head around 5am in the Bronx, on August 23
A masked-faced police officer watches the train station next to the ticket desk, a few blocks away from the crime scene on August 23
Police officers speak to locals at a crime scene on Atlantic Avenue where two individuals were injured by gunfire on July 18
Police stand at the scene of a shooting which happened as Save Our Streets was holding a peace march in response to a surge in shootings in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn on July 16
Police officers search a playground for evidence at a crime scene where two individuals were injured by gunshots on Atlantic Avenue on July 18
The uptick in crime has forced the NYPD to increase weekend patrols and shift officers to areas seeing a rise in shootings.
Police efforts to combat the surge in violence include collecting timely intelligence about crime conditions, short and long-term investigations to root out persistent drivers of violence, and grassroot engagement through Neighborhood Policing to solve problems at a local level.
Activists are demanding for more resources and peace ahead anticipated violence over Labor Day Weekend.
This year’s annual West Indian Day parade, one of the city’s biggest events that draws as many as three million people, will celebrate some performances online via Zoom.
The festival has been devastated by violence over the past few years, as per ABC7.
This year community leaders are urging people to stay off the streets and celebrate their heritage at home.