NYPD Vu: 2023 Crime Numbers Nearly Hit 2006's Levels, Again

NEW YORK CITY — New York City's 2023 crime numbers were a case of mid-aughts déjà vu all over again, despite a dip touted by Mayor Eric Adams, data shows.

Overall crime fell 0.3 percent last year compared to 2022, according to NYPD statistics officially unveiled Wednesday.

Adams and NYPD brass took the occasion to boast about meaningful declines in five of seven major felony categories, shooting incidents and murders — all of which spent most of 2023 falling from heights unseen since former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration.

"New York City remains the safest big city in America," he said. "What these numbers tell us, is that we are turning the corner of crime in the city."

But "turning the corner" doesn't mean New York City has returned to the pre-coronavirus pandemic record low crime levels experienced during the final years under former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Major felonies over the past two years hit just below numbers that haven't been seen since 2006, data shows.

For Adams' part, he argued he inherited rising crime levels as he came to office in 2022.

Shootings were at a 15-year-high and murders stood at a 10-year-high, police officials said.

"Where we were on Jan. 1, 2022, is not where we are now," Adams said.

Shooting incidents were down about 25 percent compared to 2022, the data shows — a drop Adams said was the highest since 1995.

Murders were down 12 percent, the data shows.

Indeed, most violent crimes fell or remained essentially flat, the data shows.

Felony assault was a major exception, which NYPD officials blamed in part on 300 more attacks against cops.

The only other major felony category to increase — grand larceny auto — was almost entirely because of car thefts targeting Hyundai and Kia automobiles, officials said.