Crime In NYC Parks Up 23 Percent, Study Finds
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Major crime is down overall in New York City, but a new study says crimes have spiked in city parks.
Watchdog group NYC Park Advocates analyzed NYPD data and found that the number of murders, rapes, robberies and homicides rose 23 percent in the nine months through March 2016, compared to the previous nine-month period.
"Four hundred and seventeen people, during that period, reported being the victim of a violent crime," NYC Parks Advocates founder Geoffrey Croft said.
According to the study, the most crime occurred in Crotona Park, in the Claremont section of the Bronx, with 23 incidents. Riverside Park, in Manhattan, had 14 incidents over the 9-month period that was analyzed, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
The figures do not include Central Park, which has its own police precinct.
"Park safety is simply not a priority," Croft said. "And that's just shameful."
A spokesperson for Mayor Bill de Blasio said crime in city parks makes up less than one percent of overall crime, adding that NYPD is focusing on trouble areas using a precision policing model.
