NYC Crime: Murders down, overall crime up 30% in March

NEW YORK - NYPD officials released the city's latest crime statistics on Wednesday, showing that while murders saw a slight decrease, overall crime continues to rise.

There were just 32 murders in March 2022 compared to 38 in March 2021, but the city's overall crime index increased by 36.5% in March 2022, compared to the same period in 2021.

Shootings across the city jumped 16.2% from 99 to 115, while robberies rose 48.4% from 854 to 1,267. Car thefts also saw a huge increase, jumping from 655 in the same month a year earlier to 1,044 in 2022.

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NYPD officers made 410 gun arrests in March 2022, with a total of 1,207 illegal firearms arrests made in the first quarter of 2022, the highest number of gun arrests over that time period since last year. 

"The NYPD will continue to provide fair, effective, and responsive policing that best reflects the needs of the communities we serve," Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said in a statement. "But the NYPD needs the steadfast commitment of all its partners, pulling in the same direction, to realize our goal of public safety for every New Yorker."

As New York City continues its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, crime remains one of the top concerns for New Yorkers across the five boroughs, with gunfire and random attacks leaving many communities shaken by violence.

Last week, a 12-year-old boy was struck and killed by a stray bullet in East Flatbush, while a 61-year-old woman was shot in the back and killed walking along a Bronx sidewalk, a sign of the NYPD's continuing struggle to stop the gun violence on the city's streets.

In response, Mayor Eric Adams has brought back the NYPD's controversial anti-gun unit, which critics say is bringing back the unpopular stop-and-frisk policy.