NYC crime stats: Major felonies down, but youth violence on the rise
NYC reports drop in major felony crimes, but teen violence rising
New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell has recently shared a somewhat optimistic view of the city's crime statistics, stating that major felony crimes such as murder, rape, and shootings are down. However, assaults, car thefts, and shoplifting remain stubbornly high, and the city's first-quarter crime report card comes with another concern - the number of teenagers being arrested for violent crimes is up.
NEW YORK CITY - Crime is still a major concern for many New Yorkers, but according to Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, there has been some progress on that front. Major felony crimes like murder, rape, and shootings have decreased, indicating that the efforts of the NYPD to combat these crimes are having an impact.
"We have made progress, but we know there's a lot more to do," said Sewell.
Despite the progress made in these areas, other crimes such as assaults, car thefts, and shoplifting remain stubbornly high. The city's first-quarter crime report card has also raised concerns about the increase in the number of teenagers being arrested for violent crimes.
"A significant number of our shootings involving our people who are young center on gangs and street crews," Sewell said on Thursday.
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Many of the teenagers are already repeat offenders and, in some cases, have been victims of multiple crimes themselves.
"To kind of show you the explosion of youth violence, this year we've already had incidents where under the age of 18 victims have already been shot two separate times," said Michael Lipetri, the NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies.
In response to this disturbing trend, the NYPD will repeat what worked in the Bronx last summer. Starting on May 1st, the NYPD will deploy more cops to 25 police precincts identified as high-crime neighborhoods, where many of the victims and the criminals are teenagers.
The summer violence reduction plan also includes confiscating illegal ATVs and sending more youth coordination officers to some city schools. According to the police, many of the same young people are committing crimes over and over and targeting other teenagers. The hope is that by repeating what worked last summer, they can also reverse the disturbing trend.