Residents of Manhattan’s Upper East Side experienced a massive spike in robberies recently.
Twenty-seven robberies were reported in Manhattan’s wealthiest neighborhood over the past four weeks, which represents an increase of 286% when compared to the same time last year, the Daily Mail reported.
A large number of those robberies have been carried out with the use of a gun. Only four armed robberies were reported on the Upper East Side in 2019, but 14 have already been reported this year so far.
Some more statistics:
2020 (to date) gunpoint robberies total: 14
2019 (entire year) gunpoint robberies total: 4
Thats a 250% increase.
The public is urged to call 1-800-577-TIPS or DM @NYPDTips with any info regarding these crimes or illegal firearms.
— NYPD 19th Precinct (@NYPD19Pct) August 3, 2020
Other affluent areas in the city, such as SoHo and Tribeca, have also experienced the surge of crime in the city to the tune of a 175% increase in robberies in July of this year compared to last year.
The West Village, home to many high-profile celebrities, saw a 50% spike in robberies.
Crime has been surging throughout New York City in areas both rich and poor. The number of shootings so far this year in the nation’s largest city has jumped 72%, and the number of shooting victims has increased by 80% from 2019.
Many have blamed the surge in crime on local leadership’s treatment of police, which could also explain why arrests were down 54% in June compared to last year.
“It’s the most horrific time to be in the police profession,” professor Maria Haberfeld of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice said about the crime surge, adding she expects it to get worse. “Cops aren’t doing less work, but they’re not going out of their way to do more work, and that’s a huge difference.”
Retirement filings from New York City Police Department officers have surged 400%, causing the city to place limits on who can file and when.
Officers in the New York City Police Department’s plainclothes anti-crime unit were reassigned on June 15, and 116 shootings took place during the following couple of weeks, representing an increase of 205% from last year. The shootings contributed to June being one of the bloodiest months in the city in 24 years.
Last month, 17 people were shot in the city on a Monday following a weekend when over a dozen shootings were reported.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has blamed the crime surge on “boredom” and “unemployment” caused by the state’s strict coronavirus lockdowns.
“So many people don’t have anything to do. They don’t have anywhere to go. They don’t have a job, they can’t go to school, they are dealing with so many challenges,” de Blasio said.
