New York Mayor Bill de Blasio touted his city’s record of safety despite the fact that shootings have risen by 75% in the city.
“It’s important to set a foundation here that even though we experienced some real challenges in 2020, particularly with gun violence, in fact, if you look at all of the numbers, overall crime decreased in 2020,” he said during a news conference Thursday. He outlined not only how overall crime had decreased, but also how police responses are now about “deepening the tie between police and community, deepening neighborhood policing.”
“We are the safest big city in America,” he added. “We will continue to be.”
But while de Blasio mentioned the “challenges” that 2020 presented with gun violence, he failed to note just how large of a challenge the problem has become:
New York City saw a 75% jump in shootings this February compared to last, despite a slowdown in reported murders and felony assaultd, as the city’s and state’s top officials seem at odds over Big Apple crime and safety.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) recorded 77 shootings in February compared to the 44 reported during the same month last year, police officials announced Thursday. Meanwhile, February saw one less murder this year, with 21, and a decrease in felonious murders by just under 8%, the department said.
That reality might be why embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had a much starker view of the city’s problem than de Blasio:
Despite the fact that statistics show a 26.5% decrease in overall crime in February, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo described the Big Apple as being in a “very precarious situation,” with residents fleeing.
“It’s teetering, to use a word. Crime is way up. Homelessness is way up. Many people have left New York City,” he said during a news conference Wednesday. “We have to get New York City functional again and safe again. And viable again. And we have to do that quickly.”
The news comes as New York City has joined other city’s across the country in the “Defund the Police” movement, with de Blasio’s city diverting $1 billion away from the police budget over the summer.
The move came as riots and protests engulfed many of America’s major cities in response to the death of Georgie Floyd. However, instead of using law enforcement to put an end to the destruction, many cities have committed to abandoning their police departments for the cause of social justice.
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