Major Crime Up for First Time in Two Decades as Mayor Touts Murder Drop
December 28, 2011 4:36pm
Michael Bloomberg speaks at a City Hall press conference on Hurricane Irene on Aug. 25, 2011. The city is bracing for what could be its first direct hit by a hurricane in decades. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
By Ben Fractenberg and Tom Liddy
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Overall felony crime across the city is up slightly this year — bolstered by a jump in the number of rapes and felony assaults — even as the murder rate and the number of fire deaths continue to hover at levels that are near record lows, according to new crime statistics released Wednesday.
But during a press conference at City Hall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, tried to downplay the uptick, saying that the numbers were affected by the inclusion of a new crime this year — strangulation — and increased reporting of sexual assaults.
As of Dec. 25, major crime — murder, rape, felony assault, robbery, grand larceny, burglary and auto theft — was up 0.36 percent from 2010, putting the brakes on a longtime downward trend that began in the early 1990s, according to the city's crime statistics.
Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly (l-r) discuss the year's crime and fire safety numbers on Dec. 26, 2011. (DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg)
The increase this past year was fueled by small jumps in the number of rapes, robberies and grand larcenies as well as a nearly 8 percent spike in felony assaults citywide.
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