New York City overall crime increases 31% while incarceration conservation rate stoops to 18%

Overall crime in New York City has risen 31% since June of last year, with more than 11,000 total incidents this year compared to 8,448 in June 2021.

While citywide shootings and murders have decreased 24% and 32% year-over-year, respectively, six of seven major crime incident categories have reached a 21-year high, New York Police Department (NYPD) executives announced Thursday. 

That increase is driven by a 41% rise in grand larceny, a 36% uptick in robbery and a nearly 34% increase in burglary. All arrests are up 26% over last year — a 21-year high for the seven major crime categories — but the incarceration conservation rate has dropped.

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NYPD leaders emphasized that they are frequently re-arresting known offenders who are then let back onto the streets to commit more crimes.

“We’re arresting the same people over and over again,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said during a Thursday news conference.

Many suspected shooters are involved in other criminal activity prior to shooting incidents.

NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri noted that 25% of burglary suspects and 20% of grand larceny suspects “go on to commit a new felony” within 60 days. Five years ago, that rate was 7% for burglary suspects and 6% for grand larceny suspects, he said. 

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“Who are we arresting? The same people that we’ve been arresting for the past couple of years. Convicted felons or people who … already have an open felony,” Lipetri explained during the news conference. An estimated 22% of all gun arrests involve a previously convicted felon, and 60% of all gun arrests involve suspects with open felonies.

“You would think that those people would be incarcerated today. Well, they’re not. Only approximately 20% of all gun arrestees are incarcerated today. When we talk about our seven major arrests at a 21-year-high, the incarceration conservation rate is actually even lower than 20%. It’s approximately 18%. Those are individuals who walk around the streets of New York today,” he continued.

Lipetri said the NYPD is in communication with district attorneys’ offices “every single day,” noting that judges also play a large role in determining which suspects are released on bail.

About 20% of all shooting incidents in June were preceded by a 911 or 311 call six hours prior and within 1,000 feet of the shooting.

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By borough, the Bronx made up 34% of shootings in the second quarter of 2022, Brooklyn made up 33%, Manhattan made up 16% and Queens made up 15%. Additionally, gang- or crew-related motives accounted for 40% of shootings in New York City last quarter. Narcotics and robbery-related motives accounted for a combined total of 18% of shootings.

While murders resulting from shootings decreased to 66%, murders resulting from stabbing incidents increased to 28%.

Lipetri also noted that NYPD has seen a quarterly increase of about 6,000 incidents related to larceny, grand larceny, robbery and shoplifting incidents “gone bad,” meaning the incidents started as property crimes that escalated into violence. Felony assault victims have increased by about 1,000, Lipetri said.

Youth perpetrators make up 14% of all arrests, and youth victims make up 12% of total crime victims in New York City.

The NYPD also recorded a 4% increase in gun arrests in June 2022, bringing the total to 2,381 so far this year compared to 2,290 through the first six months of 2021 — a 27-year high for gun arrests. Officers have seized more than 3,700 guns off the streets in 2022, according to Sewell.

“This is real, tangible progress in our fight against violence in this city, and it is not a coincidence or accident,” Sewell said. “These reductions are directly driven by the work of the NYPD and we will not take our foot off the gas. In mid-March, right before the second quarter began, the first of our neighborhood safety teams were deployed. Since then, they’ve taken more than 150 guns off our city streets and had an immediate positive impact on the communities they serve.”