NYPD: Homicides And Shootings Fall In First Half Of 2016
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Crime in New York City has hit new lows and Mayor Bill de Blasio is crowing.
The city saw declines in reports of both homicides and shootings in the first half of 2016, according to crime statistics released on Monday.
There were 161 homicides in the five boroughs through June -- a 6.3 percent drop compared to the 172 reported over the same period last year.
Shootings were down about 20 percent in first six months of this year. There were 435, compared to 545 last year, according to the NYPD.
De Blasio said it's the "fewest shootings in the first six months of any year in our history."
Police officials say the declines were driven in part by a crackdown on violent street gangs.
Robberies, burglaries and auto theft are also down, and the mayor cheered one increase: gun confiscations went up 20 percent.
"The NYPD has found a way to get more and more illegal guns off our streets," de Blasio said.
But despite 26 years of crime decline, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said people still tell him they don't feel safe.
"I just don't understand it when we're reporting these type of numbers ... You hear it all the time, and it frustrates us because those cops are out there working very, very hard," Bratton said. "The numbers should speak for themselves."
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