BY HAZEL SHAHGHOLI
The NYPD’s crime statistics for October revealed a predicted increase in shooting incidents and gun crimes as compared to 2019, while homicide rates showed a slight decrease.
Citywide shooting incidents saw a 121 percent increase, with 137 citywide shootings this year compared to last year’s 62. On a year-to-date analysis these figures remark a 93.9 percent spike of 1,299 through Oct. 31, 2020, compared to 2019’s 670. Gun arrests for the month of October leapt by 102 percent from 248 in 2019 to 502 in 2020, with an increase in every borough and with the year-to-date tally up 15 percent.
Murders for the month of October fell from 36 in 2019 to 35 in 2020, while on a year-to-date analysis homicides are up 37 percent for the first 10 months of 2020 compared to 2019.
Last night one fatal shooting occurred in a public housing complex in Upper Manhattan, while two other shooting incidents related to automobile theft both occurred in the Bronx.
The NYPD made mention of the unique circumstance of the coronavirus pandemic as having a part to play in the city’s increases in shootings and gun crime, while commentators continue to ascribe part of the blame for the city’s increase in gun bloodshed to peaks in gang-related activity and bail reform.
The latest round of NYPD statistics were released on Nov. 2, a day prior to the presidential election as some city store owners boarded up their businesses ahead of potential unrest that may stem from the election results. The NYPD made mention of the 900 cadets who were sworn in to the force in a ceremony on Nov. 2 in Queens, hopefully bolstering the city’s counter-crime resources.
Assaults are up by 3 percent, burglary 32 percent and grand larceny auto 79 percent, with decreases of 17.5 percent, 17 percent and 11 percent for rape, grand larceny and robbery respectively. Transit-related incidents are down 30 percent overall with a slight ebb in housing-related crimes, up 9 percent.
Hate crimes are down on a year-to-date analysis for the first 10 months of 2020 compared to that of 2019 by 34 percent. So far this year there have been 237 hate crimes recorded across the five boroughs compared to 2019’s 359, in spite of this year’s addition of a “hate crime other” category, which has logged 24 unique incidents related to the coronavirus.
This story originally appeared on amny.com.
