NYPD: Overall crime is down, but rapes and hate crimes are on the rise
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Two men were allegedly accosted with homophic slurs last month in Jackson Heights in what cops are investigating as a hate crime. The number of reported hate crimes saw an increase compared to the previous year. Eagle file photo by Victoria Merlino.
By Victoria Merlino
While crime remains down citywide, reported rapes and hate crimes continue to rise, according to the NYPD’s newly released crime statistics for September.
In September, rape increased by 17.7 percent, with 173 rapes reported across the city versus September 2018’s 147. There was also an increase in the total number of rapes since last year, with 2019 seeing 1,377 so far, compared to the 1,361 reported at this time last year. This marks a 16 percent change.
The number of hate crimes also saw an increase. The greatest number of hate crimes against any one group were anti-Semitic, with 170 crimes with motives against Jewish people reported this year, versus 111 last year.
Shooting incidents are up for the year compared to last year, with 607 incidents compared to last year’s 573. However, this September saw the lowest number of shootings in the modern data-collecting era for the NYPD, seeing 67 incidents.
However, total crime is down 2.6 percent compared with this time in 2018, with 69,995 instances versus 2018’s 71,871 instances. Notably, burglaries this year are down by 11.7 percent compared to the same time last year, with 2019 seeing 7,739 burglaries compared to 8,762 at this time last year.
"While crime in New York City remains down thanks to the tireless work of the men and women of the police department working in close partnership with community members, we are focused on violent crime and the persistence of gun violence,” Police Commissioner James O’Neill said in a statement. “We continue to work with our partners in law enforcement, and in the communities we serve, to combat this criminal activity and ensure safety in every neighborhood.”
“Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “I applaud the men and women of the NYPD for working tirelessly every single day to make our city safer and fairer.
