Murder And Rape Down, All Other Major Crimes Up In NYC

Ordinarily it would be a complete win to hear that murder and rape are down in a city, especially New York City where it is particularly high, year after year. However, when you put these figures up against others that suggest all other major crimes are up, you get something of a mixed bag.

The New York Daily News reports that while rape and murder cases are down in the Big Apple from this time last year, other major crimes like shootings, robberies and grand theft auto are way up.

Data from NYPD CompStat released Monday indicated that robberies jumped nearly 35 percent, shootings increased 23 percent increase and burglaries spiked 22 percent compared to the same time period last year. Vehicle robberies are up over 70 percent.

The silver lining, if you can call it that, is that murders are down to 25 from 31 and rapes are down 19 percent — 116 this year compared to 143 in the same period last year. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea has linked the increase in crimes to changes in bail reform laws, which make it harder to keep suspected offenders behind bars pending their trials. The new law requires judges to release suspects without bail for most misdemeanors and some felonies. “People say, 'It just took effect — you can’t have consequences,” Shea said last week. “Take a look at the CompStat sheet.”

The relative newly minted commissioner even went up to Albany early January to plead his case to the state legislature. Advocates for the bail reform laws said that Shea’s tactics are tantamount to fear-mongering and stated the reforms have leveled the playing field for poor people who can’t afford bail and were typically more likely to plead guilty, true or not, just to get out of jail as they await prosecution.