Murders and rapes increased in New York in 2015

Murders and rapes increased in 2015 in New York, as did gang-related violence, halting the overall decline in crime seen in recent years in America’s largest city.

This overall decline was 1.7% this year compared to last year, compared to 4.6% in 2014 compared to 2013.

And two of New York’s five boroughs, Manhattan and the Bronx, have seen crime increase by 3% and 4% respectively, Deputy Police Chief Dermot Shea said at a press conference Monday.

The city recorded 348 murders in 2015, a figure that could rise further, from 333 in 2014, a rise of 4.5%. 68% of these murders were committed by firearms, an increase of 21% from last year.

But the authorities recalled that 2014 was the year with the fewest murders in 50 years.

Rapes are also up 6% compared to last year (1,428 on December 27 against 1,352 last year).

Incidents involving firearms are down 3% (from 1,172 to 1,137), as are the number of victims of these incidents (-3.3%).

But gang violence has increased by 18%, according to these statistics.

Most armed incidents involve people known to the police, whether the shooters (84% have a criminal past) or the victims (79%).

Most of the homicide victims are young men from minority groups. Blacks make up 64% of those victims, Hispanics 27%, Whites 6% and Asians 3%, according to police.

The overall 1.7% drop in crime compared to 2014 takes into account murders, rapes, burglaries, assaults, thefts, and robberies.

Armed incidents are not one of these “major crimes”.

Crime has declined steadily in New York since the early 1990s. In 1990, a record year, the number of murders was 2248. This number fell below 1000 in 1996, then below 600 in 2003. up to the 2014 record.

Despite the overall slowdown in the decline in crime, Police Chief Bill Bratton on Monday said “a very good year”: “2015 marks the safest year in modern New York history “, did he declare.

“The investments that we are making are part of this success,” also assured Mayor Bill de Blasio.

And police pointed out that compared to the population, the murder rate in New York was four times lower than in Chicago or Philadelphia.

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