New York City on track to end year with sharp drop in murder rate

The city recorded 278 homicides up to mid-December, compared with 325 last year, and police say there were the lowest number of index crimes since the 50s

Edward Helmore in New York
Tue 26 Dec ‘17 21.40 GMT

New York City is on track to record a sharp drop in murders for 2017, down 14.5 % over the last year, according to New York Police Department records.

The city recorded 278 homicides for the year as of 17 December, compared with 325 at the same point last year. The figures include the eight victims of an October attack allegedly by an Islamic State-inspired extremist.

Numbers of felony assaults, burglaries and auto theft cases also decreased in 2017, compared with the prior year, along with a 10% drop in robberies.

Police commissioner James O’Neill said at a news conference that the city was seeing the lowest number of index crimes – willful homicide, rape, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, larceny over $50, motor vehicle theft and arson – “since the 50s.”

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