Did Crime Go Up In The West Village In 2021? A Breakdown

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

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

It is 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 in the West Village in 2021 compared to 2020. Furthermore, how it compared to two years ago, before the pandemic began.

The West Village is more or less covered in its entirety by one Police Department precinct — the 6th.

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 In The West Village

6th Precinct - West Houston Street to 14th Street, Hudson River to Broadway (Data covers through the week of Dec. 19, 2021.) - Washington Square Park is also included in the 6th Precinct.

• Murder - 2020: 1, 2021: 0, -100 percent
• Rape - 2020: 7, 2021: 13, +85.7 percent
• Robbery - 2020: 143, 2021: 188, +31.5 percent
• Felony Assault - 2020: 153, 2021: 169, +10.5 percent
• Burglary - 2020: 341, 2021: 231, -32.3 percent
• Grand Larceny - 2020: 716, 2021: 850, +18.7 percent
• Transit - 2020: 29, 2021: 30, +3.4 percent
• Housing - 2020: 0, 2021: 0, 0 percent
• Petit Larceny - 2020: 1,299, 2021: 1,301, +0.2 percent
• Misdemeanor Assault - 2020: 248, 2021: 322, +29.8 percent
• UCR Rape - 2020: 9, 2021: 17, +88.9 percent
• Other Sex Crimes - 2020: 42, 2021: 70, +66.7 percent
• Shooting Victims - 2020: 1, 2021: 3, +200 percent
• Shooting Incidents - 2020: 1, 2021: 3, +200 percent
• Hate Crimes - 2020: 5, 2021: 14, +180 percent

Out of the 15 types of crime recorded by the West Village precinct, 12 of them went up in 2021 compared to 2020.

When looking at any data set it's important to remember 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.

Similarly, both shooting statistics from the West Village precinct went up 200 percent from 2020 to 2021, which is actually an increase from one to three incidents.

The largest overall increase in the 6th Precinct was in grand larceny (theft of personal property), which went from 716 to 850 from 2020 to 2021.

Murder and burglary were the two types of crime to go down in the West Village during 2021.

The biggest decrease was seen in burglary, which went from 341 incidents to 231.

While the number of shootings did go up, the increase was marginal and the number of incidents remains very low compared to other precincts.

Overall, 12 of the 15 types of crime increasing in the 6th 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 remain mindful of the size of those increases.

What About Compared To 2019? (Pre-Pandemic)

• Murder - 2019 compared to 2021: N/A
• Rape - 2019 compared to 2021: +160 percent
• Robbery - 2019 compared to 2021: +31.5 percent
• Felony Assault - 2019 compared to 2021: +21.6 percent
• Burglary - 2019 compared to 2021: +66.2 percent
• Grand Larceny - 2019 compared to 2021: -20.6 percent
• Transit - 2019 compared to 2021: -40 percent
• Housing - 2019 compared to 2021: - N/A
• Petit Larceny - 2019 compared to 2021: +0.2 percent
• Misdemeanor Assault - 2019 compared to 2021: -6.1 percent
• UCR Rape - 2019 compared to 2021: +21.4 percent
• Other Sex Crimes - 2019 compared to 2021: -6.7 percent
• Shooting Victims - 2019 compared to 2021: N/A
• Shooting Incidents - 2019 compared to 2021: N/A
• Hate Crimes - 2019 compared to 2021: +133 percent

From 2019 to 2021, six of the 10 crimes that were chronicled increased in the 6th Precinct — whereas four of them decreased.

The split is closer to even and in some ways offers a better representation of comparisons to 2020, when New York City saw one of its greatest ever exoduses during the heights of the pandemic.

You can check out the full crime data set for the 6th Precinct on its website.