Surging crime rates have led to at least one New Yorker likening the city to “the wild, wild, West.”
In June, the NYPD released a report showing that while murders decreased by 23% compared with 2020 stats, gun arrests increased by 99%.
A September report showed felony assault (assault with a dangerous weapon) rose nearly 19%, from 1,802 in September 2020 to 2,135 in September 2021. The report also showed that Grand Larceny increased 31%, and the overall crime index increased 3.1%.
Many correlate the rise in crime with the police officers’ lack of support from Mayors Bill de Blasio and former Governor Cuomo.
The New York Post printed a statement by Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch, who has long been at odds with de Blasio. The statement read:
“…blame the [rise in crime on the] complete lack of leadership from City Hall…NYPD has nothing even remotely close to…support from our city’s elected leaders. Troopers may be patrolling city streets in increasing numbers, but they do not have to deal with a mayor who demonizes them for his own political gain, a City Council that imposes new burdens and second-guessing at every turn, or NYPD bosses who look to protect their own careers at the expense of the men and women they lead.”
Reuters reports “that at a funeral for police officer Rafael Ramos — who was assassinated with his partner, Wenjian Liu, as they sat in their patrol car — cops literally turned their backs on New York Mayor Bill de Blasio in a show of disrespect. Many in the police department blame what they see as his anti-police policies for the two cops’ deaths.”
While interviewing New Yorkers, a resident named Gabriel to Fox News, “The city has regressed the past eight years under the mayor…Crime in the subways, old women getting robbed… homicide going up, people getting shot, shootings are up, killings are up, and he’s aloof – he’s walking in Prospect Park, enjoying his daily stroll or going to YMCA,” he continued, referring to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
A man named Chris agreed with Gabriel adding, ‘Liberals ruined this city.’
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Particularly disturbing is the rise of mid-day, very public assaults, several of which have been caught on camera. A recent example is the murder of a New Jersey nurse who died from a head injury last week after she was assaulted in Times Square.
“The crime situation has gotten extremely bad,” John, a commuter from New Jersey, told Fox News.
Concerned residents cite efforts to defund the police, bail reform, and the rapid release of convicted felons by Governor Hochel as factors impacting the rise in crime.
A Bail Reform law, which went into effect in January 2020, makes release before trial automatic for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies. The law also provides Judges with the option to release, on minimal bail, individuals accused of violent felonies, including domestic violence or sex-related crimes. The law give Judges discretion to set bail based on one’s ability to pay.
In recent months, several who benefited from the Bail Reform law and Governor Hochel’s rapid release of Riker Island inmates, have been rearrested for violent crimes, including murder. Nine inmates released from Riker’s Island were rearrested within three weeks of their release.
“Public safety is number one,” New York resident Mike Martino commented to a Fox News reporter. “They just can’t keep a revolving door with these criminals.”
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