NYC Crime Rose 22% In 2022, Despite Year-End Dip: Stats

NEW YORK CITY — New York City ended 2022 with crime on the decline, but the dip wasn't enough to offset the year's overall rise, newly released data shows.

Crime overall rose 22.4 percent last year compared to 2021, according to year-end NYPD statistics unveiled Thursday.

But Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD brass, who jointly presented the numbers, argued the city is heading in the right direction. Adams said crime was on a sharp rise as 2022 dawned — and it took a year's worth of work by police to drive it down.

"We're leaving 2022 with crime trending downward," he said.

Indeed, the statistics appear to support Adams' assertion.

During the last three months of 2022, crime fell 1.5 percent compared to the same months a year before, according to the numbers.

Overall crime fell for the second straight month in December, which saw an 11.6 percent decline compared to the same month in 2021, the data shows.

Five of seven major crime categories saw decreases in December, with murders falling 26.1 percent, the numbers show.

Murders and shootings, in fact, have been consistently falling all year. There were 433 murders — an 11.3 percent yearly decrease, as well as the lowest number since 2019, according to the data.

Shooting incidents were down 17.2 percent overall, the data shows. During the last three months, the drop was 32 percent — the largest reduction for that span since the NYPD started its statistics effort, said Michael LiPetri, the department's chief of crime control strategies.

"Every borough, in regards to violence, experienced significant double-digit decreases for the quarter," he said.

NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell linked the drop in violence to police efforts.

She said other efforts have taken a bite out of overall crime, which had at times spiked to 48 percent higher year-over-year.

"We are now sitting at about 22 percent," she said. "We knew we would not turn this city around on a dime. We did not stumble into these decreases. They were not happenstance."