Did Crime Go Up On The Upper West Side In 2021? A Breakdown

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — For better or worse, there aren't many topics discussed more at a local level than neighborhood crime.

It's talked about on community Facebook groups, local election forums and in conversations with family members.

It's also a topic where you see lots of different — sometimes contradictory — numbers over the course of a year.

As the year draws to an end, Patch wanted to take a look at how crime on the Upper West Side in 2021 compared to 2020. Furthermore, how it compared to two years ago, before the pandemic began.

The Upper West Side is covered in its entirety by two New York Police Department precincts — the 20th and the 24th.

On every NYC precinct page, there is a data sheet provided by the department for all the localized crimes that have taken place over different time frames within its boundaries.

2020 Vs. 2021 Crime On The Upper West Side

20th Precinct - 59th to 86th Streets, Riverside to Central Park West (Data covers through the week of Dec. 19, 2021.)

• Murder - 2020: 1, 2021: 0, -100 percent
• Rape - 2020: 5, 2021: 7, +40 percent
• Robbery - 2020: 87, 2021: 109, +25.3 percent
• Felony Assault - 2020: 52, 2021: 82, +57.7 percent
• Burglary - 2020: 146, 2021: 79, -45.9 percent
• Grand Larceny - 2020: 474, 2021: 718, +51.5 percent
• Transit - 2020: 18, 2021: 22, +22.2 percent
• Housing - 2020: 19, 2021: 24, +26.3 percent
• Petit Larceny - 2020: 1,312, 2021: 1,218, -7.2 percent
• Misdemeanor Assault - 2020: 132, 2021: 187, +41.7 percent
• UCR Rape - 2020: 8, 2021: 15, +87.5 percent
• Other Sex Crimes - 2020: 36, 2021: 52, +44.4 percent
• Shooting Victims - 2020: 4, 2021: 3, -25 percent
• Shooting Incidents - 2020: 3, 2021: 3, 0 percent
• Hate Crimes - 2020: 3, 2021: 5, +66.7 percent

Out of the 15 types of crime covered by the Upper West Side precinct, 10 of them went up in 2021 compared to 2020.

When looking at any data set, it's important to remember, though, that when the sample size is small — percentage increases or decreases can be skewed to seem much larger or smaller than they actually are.

For example, murder going from one to zero in 2020 compared to 2021, can also be written like a hundred percent decrease.

The largest overall increase in the 20th Precinct was seen in grand larceny (theft of personal property), which went from 474 cases in 2020 to 718 cases in 2021.

Murder, burglary, petit larceny (theft of something low in value), and shooting victims all went down in 2021 compared to 2020, with the number of shooting incidents remaining the same over the two years.

The biggest decrease was seen in burglary, which went from 145 cases in 2020 to 79 cases in 2021 — a sizable decrease of 45.9 percent.

Likewise, the number of shooting incidents remained low and went down slightly in the neighborhood over the past 12 months compared to the same period before.

Overall, the 10 to four types of crime increasing in the 20th Precinct from 2020 to 2021 shows that crime has gone up in the area over the past year. However, as noted above, it is important to be mindful of the generally small margins of those increases.

What About Compared To 2019? (Pre-Pandemic)

• Murder - 2019 compared to 2021: -100 percent
• Rape - 2019 compared to 2021: -22 percent
• Robbery - 2019 compared to 2021: -36.2 percent
• Felony Assault - 2019 compared to 2021: +5.1 percent
• Burglary - 2019 compared to 2021: +11.3 percent
• Grand Larceny - 2019 compared to 2021: +21 percent
• Transit - 2019 compared to 2021: -58.5 percent
• Housing - 2019 compared to 2021: - 0 percent
• Petit Larceny - 2019 compared to 2021: -20.2 percent
• Misdemeanor Assault - 2019 compared to 2021: -12.2 percent
• UCR Rape - 2019 compared to 2021: +15.4 percent
• Other Sex Crimes - 2019 compared to 2021: -28.8 percent
• Shooting Victims - 2019 compared to 2021: +50 percent
• Shooting Incidents - 2019 compared to 2021: +50 percent
• Hate Crimes - 2019 compared to 2021: +25 percent

From 2019 to 2021, eight of the 15 types of crime increased in the 20th Precinct, whereas seven of the crimes decreased.

The nearly even split means you can more or less argue that crime has either gone up or down in the 20th Precinct from 2019 to 2021.

You can check out the full data set for crime in the 20th Precinct on its website.

24th Precinct

24th Precinct - 86th to 110th Street, Riverside to Central Park West (Data covers through the week of Dec. 19, 2021.)

• Murder - 2020: 8, 2021: 1, -87.5 percent
• Rape - 2020: 4, 2021: 14, +250 percent
• Robbery - 2020: 133, 2021: 140, +5.3 percent
• Felony Assault - 2020: 149, 2021: 180, +20.8 percent
• Burglary - 2020: 195, 2021: 131, -32.8 percent
• Grand Larceny - 2020: 341, 2021: 462, +35.5 percent
• Transit - 2020: 23, 2021: 27, +17.4 percent
• Housing - 2020: 93, 2021: 103, +10.8 percent
• Petit Larceny - 2020: 1,365, 2021: 1,265, -7.3 percent
• Misdemeanor Assault - 2020: 244, 2021: 269, +10.2 percent
• UCR Rape - 2020: 9, 2021: 18, +100 percent
• Other Sex Crimes - 2020: 39, 2021: 54, +35.9 percent
• Shooting Victims - 2020: 10, 2021: 10, 0 percent
• Shooting Incidents - 2020: 9, 2021: 6, -33 percent
• Hate Crimes - 2020: 4, 2021: 9, +125 percent

The 24th Precinct shared many of the same overall statistics as the 20th Precinct.

Just as the Upper West Side's other precinct, the 24th Precinct saw 10 of its 15 types of crimes chronicled go up from 2020 to 2021.

Additionally, the 24th Precinct also saw murder, burglary, petit larceny, and a shooting-related statistic decrease over the year span.

The largest percentage increase in a type of crime between 86th and 110th Street in 2021 compared to 2020 was rape, which went from four to 14 recorded cases.

The largest overall increase in the 24th Precinct in 2021 was the same as that in the 20th Precinct — grand larceny.

Overall, the 10 to four types of crime increasing in the 24th Precinct from 2020 to 2021 shows that crime has also gone up in the area over the past year.

What About Compared To 2019? (Pre-Pandemic)

• Murder - 2019 compared to 2021: -50 percent
• Rape - 2019 compared to 2021: +40 percent
• Robbery - 2019 compared to 2021: -16.7 percent
• Felony Assault - 2019 compared to 2021: +17.6 percent
• Burglary - 2019 compared to 2021: +31 percent
• Grand Larceny - 2019 compared to 2021: -12 percent
• Transit - 2019 compared to 2021: -40 percent
• Housing - 2019 compared to 2021: - 9.6 percent
• Petit Larceny - 2019 compared to 2021: -8.5 percent
• Misdemeanor Assault - 2019 compared to 2021: -6.3 percent
• UCR Rape - 2019 compared to 2021: +5.9 percent
• Other Sex Crimes - 2019 compared to 2021: +17.8 percent
• Shooting Victims - 2019 compared to 2021: +900 percent
• Shooting Incidents - 2019 compared to 2021: +500 percent
• Hate Crimes - 2019 compared to 2021: +80 percent

The similarities to the 20th Precinct are there again when looking at 2019 vs. 2021 in between 86th Street and 110th Street.

Out of the 15 types of crime tracked, eight of them increased from 2019 to 2021 and seven of them decreased.

You can check out the full data set for the 24 Precinct on its website.