City crime down 25% in shutdown

Crime dropped 25% in the five boroughs during the coronavirus shutdown last week — with just one person murdered compared with eight the week before, authorities said Monday.

Each of the seven major crimes that determine the overall crime rate — murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny auto — declined compared with the week before, according to NYPD statistics.

Just one person was murdered in the city in the seven days ending Sunday — in Brooklyn. Rapes were more than cut in half, from 33 the week before last to 15 last week. And robberies were down 8%, to 210 from 229.

The crime drop was expected, police sources said, given the streets were almost empty as the city ground to a near halt in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

As winter turns to spring, more and more New Yorkers are typically out and about. With the opposite now true, there were just 16 people shot last week, compared with 20 the week before. And with more people home, burglaries dropped 19%, to 173 from 213.

For the year, however, crime remains up substantially, with law enforcement officials blaming criminal justice and bail reform measures they see as poorly conceived.

While the 61 murders so far this year are less than the 69 for the same period last year, 179 people have been shot — 18% more than the 151 last year. And the overall crime rate is up 17% for the year so far compared with the same period in 2019.

Sources said police brass expect the crime numbers to drop even more this week, though there is a concern about domestic violence — which is sometimes a byproduct of families cooped up inside their homes for extended periods.