Murders Up 36% In March From Last Year, NYPD Crime Stats Show

NEW YORK CITY — Murders in March jumped 36 percent over the same point last year, according to the New York Police Department's newly released monthly crime statistics.

The crime numbers show an uptick in violence across New York City during the coronavirus pandemic continued even as other offenses fell.

Shootings rose roughly 77 percent, with 99 incidents during the month, according to the statistics. The city had 34 murders in March this year, compared with 25 last year, which is when sweeping coronavirus lockdowns mostly forced everyone indoors.

But violence started to spike last year after the spring lockdowns and hasn't significantly abated.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, when asked last week about the persistent post-lockdown surge in violence, returned to his argument that a "perfect storm" of pandemic-related disruptions fueled the uptick. Violence will fall as the city recovers, he said.

"We had so much that was not working in our society," he said. "Jobs gone, businesses closed, schools closed, houses of worship closed, everything now is obviously coming back. It's going in a much better direction now. We're experiencing with each month more and more recovery, more and more activity, sort of things re-solidifying. I think that's going to make all the difference."

De Blasio and other officials have focused on community-focused initiatives — such as the Cure Violence — to quell the shootings. He recently unveiled a pilot program that will use the "Advance Peace!" anti-violence model in five precincts.

NYPD officers have also amped up their presence in areas with violence and cracked down on guns. Cops conducted 492 gun arrests in March this year, an increase of roughly 67 percent over the same point last year, according to the monthly crime statistics.