NYC crime continues to drop — except for rape and murder, new NYPD stats show

Major crimes continued to dip in the Big Apple last month, with all-time lows in shootings and gunshot victims — despite a troubling bump in murder and rape.

Newly released NYPD statistics show that crime in the five boroughs was down by 6.7% across the board in August compared to the same month last year, along with an 8.2% drop in robberies and near-19% dip in citywide burglaries over the same period.

Shootings and gun victims have also hit an all-time low through the first eight months of the year, with 489 incidents and 611 victims, besting the previous record of 502 and 612 in 2018, police said.

The only blemish is a 33% jump in murders last month — the result of several deadly shooting sprees in the Bronx and Manhattan — and a continued rise in the number of Big Apple rapes.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch nonetheless praised the department’s performance, which included a 22% drip in transit crime last month compared to the same month last year, the stats show.

“Below ground on our subways, we have cut crime down to record-lows, excluding the pandemic years,” Tisch said in a statement Tuesday.

“Our focus has been on taking illegal guns off the streets, arresting violent gang members, and deploying our most valuable resource — the men and women of the NYPD — on foot posts where they are most needed, and the results are clear,” the commissioner added. “Our strategy is working, and our cops are driving down crime.”

The data shows that felony assaults, grand larceny and car theft were also down in August.

Fueling the bump in murders — and a 1.1% rise in shootings last month — were a series of deadly incidents in the Bronx and elsewhere.

A gang-related shooting at a basketball tournament at a Bronx park on Aug. 23 left one dead, a 17-year-old girl clinging to life and four others wounded in one of the months’ bloodiest incidents.

The incident was part of a spree of violence that continues to plague the 47th Precinct, which has seen a 50% increase in shootings so far this year, stats show.

Those numbers contrast borough-wide stats that show that shootings were down across the borough last month, from 27 compared to 34 in August 2024, and the number of shooting victims dipped from 49 to 44 this year over the same span.

Over the first eight months of the year, shooting incidents in the northernmost borough were at 186 with 228 victims, down from 224 and 285, respectively, over the same period in 2024.

Other boroughs saw outbursts of violence last year — earlier in the month, a shooting at a Brooklyn hookah lounge left three dead and nine wounded,

Meanwhile, rapes in the city also continue to increase, with 160 reported last month compared to 129 during August 2024, for a 24% increase, according to the data.

The 2025 number is the highest in the city in at least six years.

The NYPD said rape remains a concern, but said the number is misleading due to “legislative changes” that broaden the definition of rape and “includes additional forms of sexual assault.”

“Many reported cases involved individuals known to each other,” a department spokesperson said. “The NYPD continues to encourage survivors of sexual assault to come forward and report these incidents.”

Officials also note that, despite last month’s increase, murders in the five boroughs are down 19.6% so far this year compared to the same time span last year, with 209 this year compared to 260 in 2024.

That’s a fraction of the 2,262 Big Apple murders in 1990, and 649 in 2001, the stats show.

“But even with the tremendous steps we’ve taken in making our city safer, we know that one crime is still one crime too many,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement, “and a number of heartbreaking incidents remain at the forefront of people’s minds.

“We see so much promise in New York City, and it is readily apparent that our public safety plan is working,” he added. “We will continue to make adjustments as we see spikes, but thanks to the brave men and women of the NYPD, New York continues to be America’s safest big city.”