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Crime in the City full episode: December 8, 2023
A look at some of the more notable crimes across the New York City area this week, including a deadly rampage in Far Rockaway, Queens, violence in NYC schools and horror stories from subway riders.
NEW YORK - New York City crime news has dominated headlines throughout 2023, with reports of stabbings, assaults and more making national headlines.
While some say they're afraid the city has slipped back into the "bad old days," what do the statistics show? Is New York City safe?
2023 NYC crime stats
According to NYPD statistics, overall crime was down in New York City in 2023 by just under a percentage point compared to 2022. Both years saw more reported crimes compared to 2020 and 2021, but rates are lower compared to 2019, before COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Murders are down 11.9%, with 386 far this year, as opposed to 438 murders in 2022. And rapes, burglaries and shootings have all seen double-digit percentage point decreases since 2022.
It's not all good news, however. The city has seen a 6.3% increase in assaults and a 15.0% increase in grand larceny. Stabbings and slashings are also up just over 5%, from 4318 in 2022 to 4553 through Dec. 18 of this year.
The city's subways have been the focus of most New Yorkers' crime anxieties, but according to the MTA, overall crime is down on the rails, although felony assaults have seen a slight jump.
Total crimes reported on the NYC subway from 1995 to 2023.
While crime in the city's subway system is down compared to two decades ago, burglaries and felony assaults increased in 2023.
Total crimes in the New York City subway system in 2022, listed by type. (Credit: NYPD Compstat 2.0)
Total crimes in the New York City subway system in 2023, listed by type. (Credit: NYPD Compstat 2.0)
Top crime stories in 2023
Here, we take a look at a year of the crime stories that dominated headlines in New York City:
Just a few weeks into the New Year, a 34-year-old man died after being pushed onto the subway tracks on the Upper West Side, part of a string of subway shoving incidents that has left many riders looking over their shoulders while they wait for trains.
A disturbing video caught a group of teens taking turns punching and kicking an autistic 15-year-old boy on a subway platform in Washington Heights.
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Daniel Penny pleads not guilty
Neely’s family members and their supporters have said Neely, who struggled with mental illness and homelessness, was crying out for help and was met with violence.
In one of the most well-known and controversial incidents of the year, Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old Marine veteran was charged with manslaughter after the choking death of Jordan Neely in May.
In yet another one of a string of subway shoving incidents, Kamal Semrade, 39, of Queens was charged with attempted murder after police said he randomly shoved a woman head-first into a standing subway car at a Manhattan station, leaving her seriously injured.
Manslaughter charges were dropped against Jordan Williams, 20, a man who had been charged with fatally stabbing 36-year-old DeVictor Ouedraogo aboard a subway train, after Ouedraogo had allegedly punched William and his girlfriend.
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NYC subway stabbing suspect released without bail
20-year-old Jordan Williams has been released without bail after allegedly stabbing another man to death on the NYC subway earlier this week. Williams says he acted in self-defense after the victim, a 36-year-old man, had allegedly threatened other passengers and assaulted Williams' girlfriend.
A 74-year-old man was pushed onto the subway tracks in an unprovoked attack on the Upper East Side in September.
A uniformed NYPD lieutenant was attacked by two men at a subway station in the Bronx.