New York City saw a decline in shootings and murders in 2023 compared to 2022, according to NYPD data released Wednesday.


What You Need To Know

  • There was a drop of 24.7% in shootings citywide, from 1,294 to 974, according to NYPD data

  • Overall, the city recorded 409 fewer “index crimes” in 2023 compared to 2022, officials said

  • The NYPD also released crime statistics for December 2023, comparing them to December 2022

For the year, there was a drop of 24.7% in shootings citywide, from 1,294 to 974, according to NYPD data.

Citywide, the five boroughs recorded decreases in 2023, compared to 2022, in five of seven of what the NYPD deems to be major “index crime” categories. Police data showed a year-over-year drop of 11.9% in murders, from 438 in 2022 to 386 in 2023.  There were also year-over-year decreases in reported rapes (10.5%), robberies (3.1%), grand larcenies (2.5%) and burglaries (13.1%), according to NYPD data. Auto grand larcenies (15%) and felony assaults (6.3%) both increased in 2023 compared to 2022, police data shows.

Overall, the city recorded 409 fewer “index crimes” in 2023 compared to 2022, according to the NYPD.

“At the beginning of our administration, shootings in New York City were at a 15-year high and murders were at a 10-year high, but we vowed to combat the pervasive sense of lawlessness,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said in a statement. “We will redouble our collaborative efforts with each of our local, state, and federal partners to ensure that everyone who lives in, works in, and visits New York City is safe – and feels safe, too.”

The NYPD also released crime statistics for December 2023, comparing them to December 2022. Data showed an overall “index crime” increase of 2.4%, with the city seeing increases in robberies (22.1%), reported rapes (17.3%), felony assaults (6.3%) and grand larcenies (1.5%) last month compared to December 2022, and decreases in murders (33.3%, from 36 to 24), burglaries (14.3%) and grand larcenies (1.5%). Shooting incidents also decreased, from 85 in December 2022 to 72 in December 2023.

The NYPD said 2023 saw a 5% decrease in incidents investigated by its Hate Crime Task Force. However, hate crime numbers rose by 26% last month, from 47 in December 2022 to 59 in December 2023. Thirty-one of those 59 incidents were anti-Jewish incidents, according to the NYPD.

Transit crime decreased 2.6% in 2023, and dropped by 8.2% in December, according to police statistics.

The NYPD said officers arrested close to 4,400 people for illegal possession of a gun in 2023, and retrieved nearly 6,500 illegal firearms off the streets.