Midtown Crime Drops 20 Percent In August Over 2022: NYPD

MIDTOWN, NY — 2023 might have been the summer of love in Midtown.

Despite crime still resting at historically high levels compared to recent pre-pandemic years, reported major felonies took a deep dive in August when compared to last year.

New NYPD data shows that reported major crimes dropped by over 20 percent over 2022 in Midtown North — also known as the 18th Precinct.

Nearly every major felony saw double-digit declines — aside from car thefts which remained steady — compared to 2022.

Midtown is even outpacing the citywide decline in crime numbers, stats that NYPD Police Commissioner Edward Caban was quick to tout Wednesday.

“New York City is the safest big city in the nation,” Caban said “We will continue to drive overall crime even lower. This is happening at a time when historically crime often spikes.”

Felony assaults saw the steepest declines, with 12 fewer reported incidents reported compared to last year, a drop of nearly 55 percent.

Burglary dropped by 31 percent, with five fewer incidents. Robbery and grand larceny saw declines too, by 15.4 and 31 percent respectively.

Crime is down year-to-date over 2022 as well, with major felonies down by an average of 10.5 percent. Rape and burglary incidents saw the steepest drops so far this year, with falls of 50 percent and 42.5 percent respectively.

Citywide, major crimes fell 2.47 percent in August over the same month last year and .24 percent year-to-date.

While the declines in reported crime incidents might indicate a return to safer streets, crime is still high compared to recent pre-pandemic years.

Numbers are still up by over 42 percent year-to-date when compared to two years ago, and up by just eight percent from 13 years ago.

When compared to 2001, last year's crime numbers were still 48 percent lower on average.