Murders and rapes increased in 2015 in New York, as did gang-related violence, halting the overall decline in crime seen in recent years in America’s largest city.
This overall decline was 1.7% this year compared to last year, down from 4.6% in 2014 compared to 2013. And two of New York’s five boroughs, Manhattan and the Bronx, have seen crime increase, respectively by 3% and 4%, said Monday, during a press conference, the deputy chief of the police force Dermot Shea.
The city recorded 348 murders in 2015, a figure that could rise further, from 333 in 2014, a rise of 4.5%. 68% of these murders were committed by firearms, an increase of 21% from last year. But the authorities recalled that 2014 was the year with the fewest murders in 50 years.
Rapes are also up 6% compared to last year (1,428 on December 27 against 1,352 last year).
Incidents involving firearms are down 3% (from 1,172 to 1,137), as are the number of victims of these incidents (-3.3%). But gang violence has increased by 18%, according to these statistics.
The overall 1.7% drop in crime compared to 2014 takes into account murders, rapes, burglaries, assaults, thefts, and robberies.
Police pointed out that compared to the population, the murder rate in New York was four times lower than that of Chicago or Philadelphia.
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