For the first half of 2011, crime was down across the United States. Murder was down about 5.7 percent, robbery was down about 7.7 percent, rape was down 5.1 percent and aggravated assault was down about 5.9 percent, according to the FBI. This is certainly good news. However, in New York City, there was a slight increase in crime. The number of major felonies rose to 6.88 per day in 2011, according to police reports. This is an increase from 5.85 in 2010.

In the first six months of the year, the FBI reported there were 23,822 violent crimes reported throughout the five boroughs. Last year at the same time, there were 23,152 violent crimes reported. There was also a dramatic increase in reported rape. FBI statistics reported that 459 were reported in the first six months of 2010 while 548 were reported of 2011.

NYPD data shows that 1,395 grand larcenies occurred on the subways from January to November 2011. This represents a 23.9 percent increase from all 2010, which reported 1,126 grand larcenies.

However, with less than two weeks left, reports indicate that there were 490 homicdes in New York through Dec. 18 compared to 519 last year at the same time. Shootings also appear slightly up. Through Dec. 18, there have been 1,465 shootings in New York compared to 1,425 this time last year. Victims of the shooting incidents also rose from 1,720 to 1,769.

2011 also became the year of the pickpockter and cellphone thief. Across the five boroughs, New York saw an increase in electronic devices on the subways. NYPD Transit Bureau Chief Joseph Fox said that high priced electronic devices fueled the increase in crime, according to Metro.

In first ten months of 2011, there have been approximately 16,000 robberies throughout the five boroughs. Half of these thefts have involved the latest must-have technology according to a new study by the NYPD, reported the Daily News.

This makes electronics the single most stolen property type, surpassing even hard currency, says the report.

iPhones were apparently the most sought after item for robbers, which accounted for over 70 percent of all stolen cell phones on subways and city buses. Laptops, tablets and mp3 players were also some other popular items for pickpockets and thieves, which accounted for about half of the burglaries and 35 percent of grand larcenies.

The NYPD plans to conduct sting operations in order to curtail the thefts. They will have police officers pose as thieves looking to sell stolen electronics to bodegas and delis, reported the Daily News. The report also mentioned a public awareness campaign that hopes to remind straphangers to hold onto their belongings and protect their personal items, as previously reported by IBTimes.

It's a sound strategy designed to suppress larcenies on several fronts simultaneously, Commissioner Ray Kelly said of the report, according to the Daily News.

Of course, the carriers could brick stolen phones, making them useless and of no value on the black market--but the don't. That's been done in Australia for a decade.

Every crime in this city is particularly shocking to the victim. However, Crimes of New York chose six of the most memorable and shocking crimes to round the year in review.

Suffolk County Police image shows the locations where eight of 10 bodies were found near Gilgo Beach since December 2010
The locations where eight of 10 bodies were found near Gilgo Beach since December 2010 are seen in this Suffolk County Police handout image released to Reuters on September 20, 2011. Police investigating the 10 bodies dumped by a possible serial killer near a Long Island beach said on Tuesday two of the victims may be a mother and her toddler daughter. Police suspect some of the remains, found near New York's Gilgo beach since December, belong to victims of at least one serial killer preying on prostitutes who sought clients on the Internet, including on Craigslist. Reuters
David Laffer
David Laffer pleaded guilty to the June 19 shooting murders of four people at a pharmacy in Suffolk County, Long Island, N.Y. He was sentenced to five life terms in prison without parole for the four murders and a count of multiple murders.Suffolk Police described him as a pain-pill abuser, and state records showed that he and his wife Melinda Brady obtained almost 12,000 from area doctors in the four years leading up to the slays. Handout
A missing person sign for Leiby Kletzky ,8, is seen posted in the Orthodox Jewish section of Borough Park in the Brooklyn borough of New York
A missing person sign for Leiby Kletzky ,8, is seen posted in the Orthodox Jewish section of Borough Park in the Brooklyn borough of New York July 13, 2011. The body parts of the missing Brooklyn boy were found in a dumpster and the refrigerator of a man suspected in his disappearance, police said. Reuters
Jose Pimentel, 27, is seen in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York November 20, 2011. New York police arrested Pimentel, a follower of late Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, on suspicion of building a pipe bomb he planned to use against U.S. soldiers returni
Jose Pimentel, 27, is seen in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York November 20, 2011. New York police arrested Pimentel, a follower of late Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, on suspicion of building a pipe bomb he planned to use against U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday. Reuters
Police Officer Figoski
Police Officer Figoski was killed Dec. 12 after a botched robbery. DCPI
Deloris Gillespie
Jerome Isaac has been arrested is facing murder and arson charges after burning 73-year-old Deloris Gillespie to death in the elevator of her Brooklyn apartment building on Saturday. New York City Police Departmen
Review