New York City still isn’t able, or willing, to get a handle on crime
Major crimes have increased in New York City even as homicides have begun to decline, because New York City and State cannot shake their soft obsession with crime.
Murders and shootings in New York City have fallen to their lowest numbers since 2019, though they are still higher than pre-pandemic rates. The city made the most gun-related arrests in 27 years. And yet major crime has increased by 22%, an increase driven by robberies and thefts. According to the New York Times, the city “saw a 37 percent increase in robberies in the first three quarters of the year.”
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So how can New York deal with shootings and murders and still see a 22% increase in major crimes? State parole law would be the easy culprit. As Charles Fair Lehman has noted, the state’s parole law has led to an increase in crime, but mostly outside of New York City. Lehman wrote in December that New York City judges “were already pretty lenient” before parole reform. Combined with the atmosphere of lawlessness that spread during the pandemic, especially after the Black Lives Matter riots, you have a toxic combination.
Furthermore, Lehman details that the NYPD under Mayor Eric Adams is making about the same number of arrests, and yet the number of reported crimes has increased. That means the NYPD under the Adams administration is making fewer arrests for reported crime than under Bill de Blasio.
Whether it’s because Adams speaks out loud or because other city leaders, like those on the City Council, don’t have the stomach to address the issue, New York City is stuck in a mild crime stupor. The city lost control during the pandemic-induced lockdowns and riots that were tolerated in the summer of 2020. Police officers have quit in record numbers since then, but city leaders have been content to continue on this path.
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And even if they wanted to change course, state lawmakers have made it more difficult with the state’s parole law, which has encouraged career criminals to become more brazen and dangerous. Overall, it is a failure at the local and state level by all involved.
Since government officials and city leaders don’t have the guts to make changes, it depends on how much crime the residents themselves are willing to tolerate. Many residents have chosen to move rather than wait for that electoral wake-up call. As a result, the city is left with nowhere to go. Nobody wins except career criminals.
