The city saw a decrease in shootings and an uptick in grand larceny auto thefts in May, but overall crime remained “flat,” according to new NYPD data released Friday.
The NYPD said index crimes were driven mainly by grand larceny auto thefts, which went up 32.5% compared with last May, increasing to 1,369 cases from 1,033.
In April, Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD encouraged New Yorkers to start using Apple AirTags to track their vehicles to help bring down grand larceny auto crimes.
Overall index crime remained “flat” in May — increasing by 0.1%, according to data.
Data show there was a 26.5% drop in shootings throughout the city with 86 shootings last month, compared to last May with 117 shootings.
The five boroughs throughout the first five months of 2023 also saw a decrease in shootings with 379 compared to last January to May 2022 with 511 shootings.
“The women and men of the NYPD start each day with a clear mission: to work for and with the people of this city in our shared investment in public safety,” Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement.
Data show the city saw a drop in five of the seven index crime categories in May, such as a 33.3% decline in homicide, from 48 to 32; an 11.1% drop in robbery, from 1,520 to 1,351; and an 11.8% decline in burglary, from 1,278 to 1,127.
Police saw a jump in gun arrests, with 349 arrests that resulted in 284 firearms seized in May, data show. Overall, NYPD officers seized 2,802 guns from city streets and made 1,802 gun arrests during the first five months of 2023.
In the city’s subway system, data show that, compared to last year, there was a decrease in robberies by 30.9%, from 55 to 33, and major crime in transit dropping by 13.1%, from 222 to 193. The decrease in major crimes in transit also extends to the first fine months of 2023, with a decline by 8.7%, from 978 to 893.
The numbers show “a development which reflects the increased confidence in the subway system’s improving public-safety picture,” the release said.
There was also a decline in retail theft in May by 6.4% compared to last year, from 5,530 to 5,175, according to data.
In the first five months of 2023, the city saw a drop in five of the seven index crime categories in May compared to last year, such as murder declining by 14.1%, from 184 to 158; rape dropping by 7.3%, from 668 to 619; robbery decreasing by 3.9%, from 6,615 to 6,357; burglary dropping by 7.7%, from 6,319 to 5,834; and grand larceny declining by 0.6%, from 20,121 to 19,993.
During May, the NYPD made a total of 4,599 arrests in seven major crime categories — a 13.7% increase in arrests compared to last year and the highest number of arrests in the seven major crime categories “for any May in a quarter century,” according to the release.
The NYPD made 21,406 arrests in the first five months of 2023, making it a 24-year high.
“I have seen their tireless work and their critical contributions to the vibrancy returning to our sidewalks and subways, stores and restaurants, and business districts,” Sewell said of officers.