Murders and shootings fell dramatically in the city last year as other felonies in the five boroughs ticked slightly upward.
“The number of murders this year will be lower than any time in recorded city history,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“The fact that the safest big city in America is safer than ever is a testament to the hard work and determination of the men and women who put their lives on the line for us every day — and it also reflects our commitment to doing everything possible to stop gun violence.”
In the five boroughs, there were 414 homicides and 1,353 shooting incidents, as of December 23, the most recent numbers available — both record lows since comparable statistics began being kept in 1963. The previous record low in murders was 471 in 2009.
Rape, robbery, assault and burglary saw slight upticks while grand larceny rose more than 9 percent.
When murders reached their all-time high in the city in 1990, nearly six New Yorkers were killed each day. Even with that number dropping to just over one per day, Bloomberg said one murder or shooting is one too many.
Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly credited police initiatives such as Operation Impact, which funneled resources to high-crime areas, for the decreases.
“We’re taking 8,000 weapons annually out of the hands of people we stop, 800 of them illegal handguns,” said Kelly. “We’re preventing crimes before someone is killed and before someone else has to go to prison for murder or other serious crimes.
Guns remained the leading cause of murder within the city; 57 percent (237) of killings were by guns last year.
In Queens, murders fell from 82 to 80 last year while shooting incidents jumped more than 6 percent.
Within the 112th Precinct, zero homicides were recorded while the 111th and 104th precincts each had one.
Murders in NYC (1990-2012):
- 1990 – 2,262
- 1995 – 1,181
- 1998 -629
- 2001 – 649
- 2009 – 471
- 2010 – 536
- 2011 – 515
- 2012 – 414*
