NYPD Reports Record Low Violence Through October
City officials credit aggressive gang enforcement for the historic decline, though experts warn this complicates the mayor's campaign pledges.
By Alyssa Parker ·
The New York City Police Department recorded the lowest number of shootings, shooting victims, and murders in its history for the first ten months of the year. Officials announced the statistics on Monday, citing a targeted strategy against organized crime groups as a primary driver of the decline.
From January through October, the city experienced 536 shooting incidents, down from the previous record of 598 set last year. The number of people shot fell to 649, a drop from the 746 victims recorded in 2025. Murders totaled 230, surpassing the previous best of 244 set in 2017.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch attributed the progress to detectives executing 26 gang-related takedowns. She also noted that officers seized more than 4,500 illegal firearms across the city. At the police academy graduation on Monday, Tisch told new recruits that their work continues despite cynicism in the world.
Retired Detective Dave Sarni offered a different perspective on the data. He suggested that the aggressive enforcement might make it harder for Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fulfill a campaign promise to eliminate certain policing tactics. Sarni described these methods as a valuable tool in the police force's toolbox, similar to surveillance cameras.
While violent crime fell, hate crimes increased. Reports of hate crimes rose by 15.2 percent to 530, up from 460 in the same period last year. More than half of these incidents, specifically 52.6 percent, were antisemitic. This occurred despite Jewish residents making up only 10 percent of the city's population.
Sarni argued that the justice system must prosecute these offenses to the fullest extent of the law. He noted that hate crime statutes can elevate a misdemeanor to a felony, which affects bail eligibility. He said that when offenders are released on bail, they often commit the crime again.
Subway safety also improved, marking the second-safest year in the last 15 years when excluding the pandemic. However, subway crimes still increased by more than 2 percent, or 39 additional incidents, compared to the previous year. Sarni blamed the rise on fare evasion, which he said encourages further criminal activity.
