Crime in New York’s five boroughs hit a record low last month, making it the safest October since the New York Police Department began tracking crime statistics in 1993, the department announced Monday.
Index crimes were down 5.9 percent for the month, bringing the year-to-date crime rate down 3.1 percent when compared to last year’s January through October numbers. That’s 2,817 fewer crimes compared to the same period last year.
“We are proud that we are pushing crime even lower, despite our record low last year,” said Commissioner William J. Bratton in a department release. “We’ll continue building new relationships in our communities to better address crime and concerns in particular neighborhoods, making this city safe and fair, everywhere.”
Murder, rape, robbery, assault burglary and grand larceny all saw notable decreases when compared to the same month in 2014.
Despite lower crime rates in October, murder and rape are up for the year, 7.7 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.
Other U.S. cities have also seen a jump in shootings and homicides in 2015, including Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Milwaukee, Chicago and St. Louis.
Experts are calling the spike in these crimes part of the “Ferguson effect,” in which some police officers have become hesitant about how to de-escalate dangerous situations due to the risk of being unfairly scrutinized by the public.
