West Village Crime Numbers Drop Over 10 Percent In 2023: Data

WEST VILLAGE, NY — Is 2005 remembered as a major crime wave?

According to the year-end NYPD crime data, 2023 better resembled 18 years ago than 2022 in the 6th Precinct.

In 2022, crime was at a recent historic high after years of record lows, with total felonies at a number topped only by 2000's statistics.

And in 2023, those same crime numbers fell by over 10 percent, according to NYPD data.

Remarkably, 2001 also saw a 10 percent drop in crime from that 2000 high, a drop that mostly continued — with some blips — until 2022, when crime spiked by an unprecedented 50 percent as the city emerged from the pandemic lockdowns.

But in just a year, according to the data, reported crime went from the second highest point this century to the fourth highest, sitting just digits above where crime numbers rested in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

A chart below shows the last 23 years of reported major felonies for the 6th Precinct, including the total number of felonies and broken down by crime.

By far, the largest number of reported crimes in the 6th Precinct over the years are grand larceny, which is a theft of over $1,000.

Compared to 2022, the number of reported grand larcenies fell by only 53 (3.8 percent).

Most other major crimes saw major decreases compared to 2022, like murder (66 percent), rape (30 percent), robbery (21.7 percent), burglary (32 percent) and auto theft (15.5 percent).

Transit crimes also saw a good statistical decrease of 10 percent, even if that only meant five fewer events in 2023.

But some crimes saw minor upticks, like felony assault (6.6 percent), petit larceny (5.8 percent) and misdemeanor assault (3.6 percent)

Overall, the 6th Precinct outperformed the city, where total major crimes fell by just .32 percent.

And while the falling crime numbers might be a good indicator of a waning post-pandemic crime wave, the numbers are still high when compared to the past decade, at over 34 percent higher than 2010.

But looking even further back suggests that the city is still experiencing record-low crime statistics.

Compared with 1993, crime in the 6th Precinct is over 61 percent lower, according to the NYPD data.

And 2022's record high crime numbers were still a whopping nearly 71 percent lower than they were in 1990.