City crime drops by nearly 17% in January, marking second month of decline, NYPD says

Crime in New York City declined last month, with overall incidents dropping by 16.8% compared to January 2024, the NYPD said on Tuesday.

Last month, the NYPD said that the city reported 1,700 fewer overall major crimes, marking the second straight month of double-digit decreases following a 15.5% decline in December.

Has crime gone down in all five boroughs?

Local perspective:

The NYPD said that the decline was seen in all five boroughs, and included a 36.4% decrease in subway crime, as well as double-digit declines in murder, robbery, grand larceny, auto theft, and shooting incidents.

FILE - Police gather at the scene where two New York City police officers were shot in a confrontation late Wednesday evening in Brooklyn on June 03, 2020 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

New York City reported the fewest shooting incidents in any January since CompStat began tracking data over 30 years ago, including an unprecedented five consecutive days without a single reported shooting victim, the NYPD said.

What major crime categories contributed to the decrease? 

By the numbers:

According to the NYPD, major crimes including murder, assaults and robberies plummeted city-wide. The NYPD said: 

  • Robbery was down by 26% (1,063 vs. 1,436)
  • Grand Larceny was down 21.7% (3,256 vs. 4,161)
  • Grand Larceny-auto was down 23.1% (898 vs. 1,167)
  • Felony assaults declined by 6.9% compared to the same period in 2024 (1,983 vs. 2,130)
  • Public housing developments saw a 14.5% decrease in crime, compared to the first month of 2024 (425 vs. 497)
  • The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force also reported a substantial drop in bias-related incidents, with eight fewer cases in January 2025 compared to the same month last year (30 vs. 38)
Crime scene tape

FILE - File image of crime scene tape.  (FOX TV Stations)

The NYPD also found that there was an increase in reported rapes, with 149 incidents reported in January 2025 compared to 106 in January 2024. 

Of these reported incidents, 88 occurred in 2025, while 61 were incidents from prior years, the NYPD said.

What they're saying:

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch credited the city's "zone-based policing" strategy. 

"January’s crime declines are an extraordinary testament to the work of our cops," Tisch said. "Every day, we are analyzing crime numbers and optimizing our deployments to put cops in zones that need them. That’s starting to deliver real results. And New Yorkers can expect more of that data-driven policing to come."

Has the Three Point Plan helped bring crime down in the city?

Big picture view:

According to data from the NYPD, the Three Point Plan has led to a 36.4% drop in subway crime compared to January 2024 (147 vs. 231).

Hundreds of police officers have been reassigned and taken away from their local precincts to patrol subway trains from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

RELATED: NYC neighborhoods losing cops to overnight subway patrol plan

The NYPD has deployed two officers to patrol the overnight subway train to make New Yorkers feel safer and to address crime.

The Source: This article uses information from the NYPD and previous reporting from FOX 5 NY.

Crime and Public SafetyNew York City