February Was NYC’s Second-Safest in Recorded History

This year was the second safest February since the Compstat computer program began recording crime statistics in the early 1990s, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday.

As of the end of February, the city witnessed 39 murders and 116 shootings year-to-date, both of which are the lowest recorded numbers in the Compstat era. Regarding overall crime in February, the city experienced an increase of 2.9 percent compared with the same period last year.

February saw 17 murders, compared to 18 in 2015. There were 57 shootings, two less than the same period as 2015, and the third lowest number of shootings for the month of February in recorded history.

But other crimes were up in February. There were 22 robberies, an increase of 2.1 percent; felonious assault is at 95, or 7.7 percent more; there were 70 burglaries, or a hike of 6.9 percent; 140 grand larcenies, or 4.8 more; and there were 13 grand larcenies auto, down 2.9 percent.

“Fluctuations in crime are inevitable,” said Police Commissioner William Bratton. “So is the relentless effort put forth by the men and women of this Department to adjust our tactics and deployment accordingly.”

This article appeared in print on page 32 of the March 9th, 2016 edition of Hamodia.