NYPD: Shootings, murders drop in September 2021

NYC crime stats and trends

City officials released crime stats for September 2021 showing a decrease in certain crimes from September 2020. Murders are down 22%, burglaries dropped nearly 15% and shootings decreased by about 9%.

NEW YORK - Murders and shootings in New York City continue to drop, according to the NYPD's latest statistics, although overall crime is up from the same time a year ago.

Murders fell 22%, from 59 killings to 46, in September 2021 compared to the same month last year. Shootings for the month dropped about 9%, to 136 from 150, from September 2020.

But felony-level assaults spiked by nearly 19% (from 1,802 to 2,135) and robberies rose by 6% (from 1,199 to 1,271) last month compared to a year ago, police said.

Notably, hate crimes have more than doubled so far in 2021 (from 209 to 424) compared to the same period in 2020. Hate crimes targeting Asians have more than quadrupled from 25 through September 2020 to 117 so far this year.

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea credited the department's thousands of officers for their "hard and often dangerous work."

"And while I applaud their courage and tenacity, the police cannot do this alone. Public safety must be a collective mission," Shea said. "It requires intelligence-based policing, but it also requires a fully functioning court system and meaningful consequences that send a clear message to those who would pull a trigger: expect to be caught, and expect to be held accountable."

NYC crime stats overview

Here is a summary of the crime statistics that the NYPD released for September 2021 and year-to-date. (Produced by FOX 5 NY)

Police made 393 arrests for illegal firearms last month, bringing the year-to-date total to 3,425, the NYPD said. That is an almost 21% increase compared to the 2,832 gun arrests made through September 2020.

Burglary saw a nearly 15% decrease from September 2021 (1,123) compared to September 2020 (1,320), police said.

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"Even if there's challenges we have to overcome and we do have to overcome them but we want to take stock of the things that are working," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a briefing on Tuesday.

Gun violence in NYC

Shootings in New York City have dropped as the NYPD has stepped up firearms-related offenses. But illegal weapons and gun violence continue to be a problem in certain neighborhoods.

The NYPD noted that so-called index crime in New York City increased by 2.6% in September 2021 compared with September 2020 (9,430 v. 9,187) but has been nearly flat so far this year (down by 0.2%). Index crimes include murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny, and auto theft.

Police are conducting several long-term operations to curtail violent crime, the department said in a news release.

"By focusing on drivers of violence, these takedowns are precision-policing at work," the NYPD said. "They are part of a larger, comprehensive strategy to curtail gun violence across New York City that also includes: working with community partners, addressing local concerns and implementing intelligence-driven plans."