Homicides and shootings in the city last month dropped to an historic low for any January, authorities said Monday.
Murders were down 9.1 percent, from 22 to 20, and shootings dropped 1.7 percent, from 59 to 58, officials said, the lowest for any January on record.
“We now have 24-hour periods where we do not record a shooting incident in New York City. That kind of thinking was impossible in the not so distant past,” said NYPD Deputy of Operations Dermot Shea.
“This is the new normal and we want to build on it on it and we feel that we will build on it. There’s still plenty of work to do.”
Overall, major crime in the city saw a .2 percent drop, with 7,992 crimes reported last month compared to 8,011 in January 2016.
“January 2017 had the lowest number of homicides and the lowest number of shootings in the modern era. So a great month for January in any category in our recording history,” Mayor Bill de Blasio crowed during a monthly crime briefing in The Bronx, which was also attended by Police Commissioner James O’Neill.
O’Neill praised his department, saying, “The overall progress has been outstanding.”
Officials said January marks the 10th consecutive month of reduced index crime, which includes burglary, robbery, rape, assault, grand larceny auto, shootings and murder.
In January as compared to the same time period in 2016, there were 100 fewer robberies, a 7.5 percent drop, and 91 less felony assaults, a decrease of 5.4 percent.
Crime categories that saw an increase from January 2016 compared to January 2017 include rape, which is up 8.9 percent from 101 to 110, grand larcenies, including credit card skimming and forging are up 4.7 percent from 3,330 to 3,485, and car thefts spiked by 2.1 percent from 470 to 480.
The mayor credited neighborhood policing for the overall reduction in crime.
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