By Bob Tannenhauser
On Friday, the NYPD released the citywide crime statistics for the month of January 2023, with a comparison to January 2022. While the report indicates a decrease in three of the seven major crime categories compared to January 2022, including a 26.3% decrease in shooting incidents, felony assaults increased 14.9%, Robbery 5.3% and Burglary 7.2%, resulting in a net citywide increase in major crimes this past month of 4.1% over January 2022.
Crime reported on the Upper West Side has increased in five of the seven major crime categories. In addition, Petit Larceny (which is not a major crime) increased from 213 to 280 incidents. And, while the City reported a 29.3% decrease in major crimes in the transit system, the Upper West Side showed an increase in January from four transit incidents in 2022 to seven in 2023.
The chart below shows comparison of the Upper West Side’s 20th, 22nd (Central Park) and 24th precincts for the first 28 days of January compared to the same period in 2022.
| Jan-22 | Jan-23 | |
| Murder | 0 | 2 |
| Rape | 1 | 2 |
| Robbery | 20 | 22 |
| Felony Assault | 17 | 16 |
| Burglary | 29 | 29 |
| Grand Larceny | 92 | 94 |
| Grand Larceny Auto | 7 | 14 |
| Total | 166 | 179 |
Literally every single category of crime is up or the same compared to last year, with the exception of felony assault, which is only just down by one count (6%). Yet some commenters still suggest that all the talk about crime is exaggerated or mass hysteria?
When grand larceny increases from 92 to 94 incidents, that is not statistically significant. Same with the vast majority of the other categories. So , yes- you sound somewhat hysterical. If you have a car however, you should be concerned. That is a large rise in grand larceny (can you spell catalytic converters and side view mirrors?)
Crime is up and it’s rise has been exaggerated. These two things are not mutually exclusive.
not much hope in these numbers…
Remember all the nasty posts on here the days before November 8th, how the medias portrayal of crime in NYC is heavily exaggerated? And of course, still not as bad as the 70’s?
Not nearly as bad as the 70s.
I remember those posts. They were accurate. It’s possible to be concerned and upset about rising crime without making out to be the end of days.
Basically almost ever category up. We need more cops patrolling the UWS as well as more cameras. Also criminals need to be caught and held and jailed and not released to keep committing crimes. Where are the politicians?
Will, The United States has BY FAR the highest incarceration rate in the world. It is 10x many other western nations. Yet our crime rates are not lower. Clearly there is a better/different solution , no? https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/incarceration-rates-by-country
The politicians know they won’t be voted out no matter what.
Busy slinging mud and accusations at each other.
The crime statistic gathering is important, more importantly what are they doing with. the information? Where do the bulk of the criminals come from, are they mostly local? The police also report by race of the perpetrators and the victim what does that accomplish?
Are neighbors committing grand larceny auto or or do the perpetrators tend to come from somewhere else is the increase from gang activity, etc?
Lack of real consequences so more ppl join in the fun. Its much easier than working for what you want. I really don’t think housing and social programs eliminate crime on their own.
WSR is to be commended for publishing these statistics on a regular basis.
The words in the article say Felony Assaults increased 14.9%, but the chart shows a decrease from 17 to 16 Felony Assaults. I didn’t check the other stats,
The 14.9% refers to Citywide, the chart is only the Upper West Side
And this is why Mayor Adams’ approval ratings are way down. I did vote for him, but there was a small part of me that suspected that he was overselling himself on being the savior to our crime issues, and unfortunately I was proven right. If his issues stem from state policies (such as bail) he should reach out to the Governor and openly publicize his efforts. Crime should be more of a priority than rats. And I hope that in the meantime the Republican Party is getting behind an ELECTABLE candidate for 2025. And by electable I mean pro choice, pro marriage equality, and anti MAGA. But definitely anti crime and fiscally conservative.
I too hoped Adams would step up and crack down on crime, but unfortunately this is not the case. Before the election, I spoke with a friend who is retired NYPD. He had no love for Adams and said that he made few friends in the department. He was viewed as a political social climber who was focused on his own aspirations rather than the good of his fellow officers. Just one cop’s opinion, but so far, not an inaccurate one.
Now the Republicans are the saviors. Give me a break. They mislead the public with their hysterical statements and they lie all the time. They don’t have the answer either.
I didn’t vote for Adams because of what seemed to be his many ties to real estate developers. I’m not super surprised at his lukewarm-at-best results so far, though I hope he’ll improve as a leader.
I didn’t vote for Adams because I knew he could not fix crime. At least with Garcia we would have cleaner streets. Rats and garbage are a daily occurence for everyone in the city; crime (at least for now) is not.
Answer: Tougher law enforcement.
Lock them up and keep them in the overcrowded jails. End of story.
You cannot control crime without punishment.
I spoke with Brad Hoylman before the primary. He told me that “we fixed the bail law” and that sending someone to Rikers is to send them somewhere where they might die. I voted for Danzilo. The bail law is not fixed, and – who shall I call them, “law-abiding citizens”? – our non-criminal population is subject to more crime.
Hoylman “fixed” the issue of terrible Riker conditions and terribly slow pre-trial periods by circumventing them vs doing actual real reform. Now instead of a deterrent we have a revolving door.
I’m on the subway almost every day, and there are many more cops on the trains than there were a few months ago. Definitely feel safer there than before.
I’ve seen plenty of cops at the 72d Street Station and around TJs and Duane Reed. Unfortunately, they’re all staring at their mobile phones. It’s hard to maintain awareness of the potential perps around when your eyes are glued to your phone. More cops is not the panacea—more engaged cops is the answer.
Those phones are department issued giving them crime updates in real time. Don’t assume..
That has not been my experience. I’ve seen cops there later in the evening, paying attention.
The one category of crime that substantially higher is car thefts, 14 this January, 7 the previous January. I don’t see how more police will prevent cars from being stolen. Not being a car owner myself, I don’t know what the solution would be.
I haven’t had a car for 30 years but I vaguely remember a large bar that was attached and locked to the steering wheel to keep it from being stolen. Does that still exist? If so, then maybe every car owner needs to get one. It seems like having an alarm is no longer a deterrent to any type of crime.
I would love to see how the UWS ranks in crime with other neighborhoods throughout the city. I suspect that despite the increase in crime stats, we remain a fairly safe area.
Although I believe the West Side is a “safe” neighborhood, am definitely concerned about the landscape of crime issues including that some is not reported.
Clearly there has been an increase – everywhere.- in shoplifting/store theft.
And prior to the winter cold weather, constantly encountering menacing people (presumably people with addiction mental health issues) on the street, on the subway and increasingly on buses.
While a decrease is certainly preferable, these “percentage increases” do not show crime is out of control and are misleading. Look at the counts. Except for Grand Larceny Auto, they are almost identical to last year. Murder from 0 to 2; Rape from 1 to 2 (a 100% increase!); Robbery 20 to 22; etc. Grand Larceny Auto did have a significant jump, from 7 to 14. So there is hope.
It is not comforting to know that crime numbers are identical to a previous period that was already at higher levels. That indicates a failure to control crime.