New York Post

Crime is shooting up in Big Apple this year

- By LARRY CELONA, TINA MOORE and BRUCE GOLDING Additional reporting by Julia Marsh lcelona@nypost.com

New York City has started 2020 with nearly 30 percent more shootings amid a rise in most major crimes, official NYPD statistics revealed Monday.

Serious crime increased in five of seven categories, with only murders and rapes down since the start of the year when compared to the same time period in 2019, according to police data compiled through Sunday.

During that time, the NYPD recorded 70 shooting incidents in which at least one person was injured, up 27. 3 percent from the 55 counted during the same time period last year.

The number of victims — 83 — grew 40.7 percent from the 59 shot over the first month last year.

The biggest surge, meanwhile, was in auto thefts, which skyrockete­d 70 percent to 617 vehicles stolen — or about 20 a day.

Robberies rose by almost 35 percent, with 1,355 people victimized by muggers and other thugs.

Burglaries, grand larcenies and felony assaults were up by 18.3 percent, 10.6 percent and 8.5 percent, respective­ly.

Murders dipped from 31 to 25, almost 20 percent, and rapes fell at a similar rate, from 165 to 135.

There were increases in some minor crimes, with petit larceny and misdemeano­r assault up 15.1 percent and 2.7 percent, respective­ly.

NYPD sources blamed the alarming situation on the state’s controvers­ial new bail-reform law, which mandates the release of most defendants charged with misdemeano­rs and felonies considered “nonviolent.”

“Right now, it’s almost a lawless society,” one source said.

“Criminals now know there are no consequenc­es for their actions, and they are causing havoc for innocent people of New York City.”

Another source pointed to a frontpage report in The Post last week about an alleged drunken driver who’s accused of telling cops, “The laws changed, I’ll be out tomorrow” — then got sprung following his arrest in a deadly Long Island crash.

“Criminals are emboldened and they themselves are stating it,” the source said.

“The word is out. They know that no matter what, they are back on the street after arraignmen­t.”

Last month, Police Commission­er Dermot Shea also tied bail reform to “significan­t spikes” in crime during the first three weeks of 2020.

“If you let out individual­s that commit a lot of crime, that’s precision policing in reverse and we’re seeing the effects in a very quick time, and that is why we’re so concerned,” Shea said.

Gov. Cuomo, who championed bail reform and signed it into law last year, called it an “ongoing process” during his annual budget address last month, suggesting that it could be amended in the “coming weeks.”

Top aides to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) have been secretly meeting with lawmakers who want to roll back the law, The Post exclusivel­y reported last week.

Despite the increasing number of crimes, the CompStat figures show that total arrests this year are down by almost 20 percent.

In the transit system, where complaints were up 33.8 percent, arrests dropped 30.1 percent.

“Part of it is the hands-off approach that comes from City Hall,” a high-ranking police source said.

A spokeswoma­n for Mayor de Blasio said, “This administra­tion has had the same approach to policing since January 2014, and the longer term trends reflect the city’s safety.”

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States