Crime in New York

Every day, millions of New Yorkers make decisions based on their sense of safety. Concerns about crime shape their choices about where to live, which neighborhoods to shop or eat in, and whether or not to ride the subway. Crime impacts not only individuals and families, but the vitality and prosperity of the city as a whole.

Yet New Yorkers often struggle to get an accurate idea of whether the city is getting safer or more dangerous. Misleading headlines claim that “crime” is shooting up or plummeting without providing a full picture. And while the NYPD publishes statistics on crime, its official dashboard gives only a limited snapshot.

The Manhattan Institute has created its New York Crime Dashboard so that New Yorkers can be better informed about safety. The dashboard, available below, provides information on nine major and minor offenses in New York. Data are available between 2006 and last week; the dashboard updates weekly, when NYPD publishes new numbers. All data are available for download at the click of a button.

The data below is also a useful resource for journalists and lawmakers, for whom accurate crime data is critical. As MI has frequently documented, many American cities suffer from a lack of accurate, timely crime reporting. The related articles below detail this problem and make recommendations for policy and investment solutions.