REAL KILLER MONTH
Nov. sees jump in nomicide, assault & robbery citywide: police
The Big Apple saw a jump in homicides last month compared with November 2021, even as shootings were down and gun busts were up, according to new preliminary NYPD statistics obtained by The Post.
Police reported 30 homicides in November, up from 25 during the same month last year.
The latest figures show that the department reclassified two deaths from earlier this year as murders, but it’s unclear whether the pair were part of November’s latest stats.
A review of the seven major crime categories shows increases in three other areas, too: Felony assaults were up 1,957 to 2,016, or 3%; robberies rose from 1,439 to 1,491, an increase of 3.6%, and car thefts jumped from 1034 to 1,131, or 9.4%.
NYPD cracking down
The statistics show dips in the three other major categories: Rapes were down from 128 in November 2021 to 110 last month, a drop of more than 14%; burglaries dropped from 1,310 to 1,231, down 6%, and grand larcenies decreased 5.5%, from 4,430 to 4,187.
Overall, the November numbers show a drop of 1.2% in the seven major crime categories.
“The NYPD is throwing everything it has at the crime problem in New York City,’’ a law-enforcement source said on Sunday.
“The increased gun arrests and reduction in shootings are not coincidental. The question remains — what happens to the shooters? There has to be accountability; the rest of the criminal-justice system has to do its job.”
Many city officials have long sought changes to controversial 2019 state criminal-justice reforms, which prohibit judges from setting bail in misdemeanor cases and non-violent felonies.
“We’re fighting a multi-front war that includes the shooters, the thieves and the recidivists. It’s the last group that poses the greatest threat,’’ another source said.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement, “As we
near the end of this year, our department is seeing substantial, tangible progress toward our public-safety goals . . . . The women and men of the NYPD have continued to reduce shootings, take illegals guns off our streets, increase arrests to bring justice for crime victims, and improve police-community relationships.”
Among the most promising statistics is the nearly 33% drop in shootings last month, with 80 incidents compared with 119 in November 2021.
Despite the jump last month, homicides in the five boroughs are down more than 11% year-to-date in 2022 compared with last year.
Police officials also note that citywide gun arrests are at a 27year high, thanks to a nearly 4% jump from 4,319 to 4,155 over the first 11 months of 2021. Crime remains a persistent concern for many New Yorkers, particularly in the transit system.
Last month, the NYPD released statistics that show felony crimes have surged in the subway system, including jumps in murders, rapes and robberies.
Between January and October, police reported 1,917 felony transit crimes, up from the 1,367 tallied during the same period last year. In October alone the numbers show 210 total transit felonies, an increase from the 198 reported in September, the NYPD said.
The 10-month subway crime totals slightly outpaced the 38% increase in ridership over the same period, as more straphangers return to the system after a lengthy slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.