NYC crime wave: Shootings increase by 166 percent last month compared to August 2019

Shootings in New York City were up 166 percent last month compared to August 2019, according to police crime statistics released Wednesday.

The Big Apple has seen a troubling spike in crime and violence this year, and new data shows there were 242 shootings recorded last month. In August 2019 there were just 91 shootings recorded.

The number of shootings rose in all boroughs except Staten Island.

The number of murders is also up citywide, increasing from 36 in August 2019 to 53 last month, marking a 47 percent rise.

Overall, crime for August 2020 increased from 9,033 reported last year to 9,093 – a .7 percent increase.

The small increase in overall crime is due to a 17.5 percent reduction in grand larcenies. Rapes also decreased by 22 percent, but the NYPD warns that rape continues to be underreported.

Robberies climbed four percent this year with 1,276 robberies reported last month. In August 2019 there were 1,226 robberies reported.

Burglaries have also risen 22 percent. Last month 1,310 burglaries were recorded, a jump from 1,076 reported in August 2019. 

‘Despite all the continuing challenges, our NYPD officers are undaunted,’ Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said.

‘The work of our officers represents the best of the policing profession, and it continues as they increasingly engage with all of our community partners to protect life, prevent crime and build safer neighborhoods,’ he added.

Shea spoke on CNN on Tuesday where he said police response times are down and he slammed the movement to defund the police.

He said police response times are down because officers have been pulled off normal duty to help in protests across the city. 

‘You have the whole defunding movement which literally Jim – thousands of cops off the street…I think it’s cheap theater, I think it’s politics, what we need is people to stand up and say good job, thank you,’ he said.

‘The cops are out there. They were up on the Upper West Side last night taking drug dealers off the streets, the cops are out there,’ he added.

The movement to defund police departments gained traction with a string of police killings this year including that of George Floyd in Minnesota and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky. 

The uptick in crime has forced the NYPD to increase weekend patrols and shift officers to areas seeing a rise in shootings.

Police efforts to combat the surge in violence include collecting timely intelligence about crime conditions, short and long-term investigations to root out persistent drivers of violence, and grassroot engagement through Neighborhood Policing to solve problems at a local level.

Activists are demanding for more resources and peace ahead anticipated violence over Labor Day Weekend.  

This year’s annual West Indian Day parade will celebrate some performances online via Zoom. The festival is one of the city’s biggest annual events and draws as meny as three million people, but it has been devastated by violence over the past few years, as per ABC7.

This year community leaders are urging people to stay off the streets and celebrate their heritage at home or in backyards.