By: Veronica Kordmany
New York City has started 2020 with a bang. In the two months of 2020, official NYPD statistics show that there have been nearly 30% more shootings and a significantly higher overall crime rate in the Big Apple. Serious crimes have been marked as ‘increasing’ in five out of seven general categories; murders and rapes are the only types of crimes that have gone down, compared to the same time last year. The murder rate dropped by almost 20%, while the rape rate decreased by a steady 30 people.
In auto theft crimes, the percentage rose 70% to a massive 617 vehicle-robberies. That’s 20 cars every day. Robberies in general rose approximately 35%, with 1,355 people reported being attacked by muggers and other thugs. Burglaries, grand larcenies and felony assaults were also up by 18.3%, 10.6% and 8.5%, respectively.
NYPD sources say that New York State’s controversial new bail-reform law, which mandates the release of most defendants charged with misdemeanors and felonies considered “non-violent, is to blame. “Criminals now know there are no consequences for their actions, and they are causing havoc for innocent people of New York City”, one citizen said. The law was adopted on Jan. 1st, 2020.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea also tied bail reform to “significant spikes” in crime during the first three weeks of the new year. “If you let out individuals that commit a lot of crime, that’s precision policing in reverse and we’re seeing the effects in a very quick time, and that is why we’re so concerned,” Shea commented. A famous instance is when Tiffany Harris, 30, allegedly slapped three Orthodox Jewish women in Crown Heights one Friday, and was rewarded by being released, without bail, the next day. She then went on to allegedly punch another woman on Sunday.
To combat the stigma against the bail-reform law, Gov. Cuomo suggested that amendments could be coming around soon, during his annual budget address. “It’s not that you reform a system once and then you walk away. You make change in a system, it has consequences. And you have to understand those consequences,” he said.
Despite the overall rise in crime rates, the total number of arrests made this year are, so far, at least, down by a whopping 20%; in subway stations, that number is 30.1%. A source from the NYPD credited the drop to “…the hands-off approach that comes from City Hall”. A spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “This administration has had the same approach to policing since January 2014, and the longer term trends reflect the city’s safety.”
