By Eric Klein
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Shootings have risen nearly 96 percent this year compared to last within the five boroughs, with the NYPD reporting a 112 percent increase in November alone, according to the latest department statistics.
Even with gunfire attacks nearly doubling through the first eleven months of the year, other felony street crime categories have remained mostly static, the data show. And gun arrests have soared along with reported shootings, more than doubling since 2019.
“We know 2021 will by definition be better than 2020 in every way for all of society, including our ability to fight crime, because everything came unglued when there weren’t jobs, there weren’t schools, there weren’t houses of worship—everything became unglued,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said during an appearance on WNYC Friday. “And we know that led to a much tougher situation for the NYPD to handle.”
The mayor predicted things would improve with the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine in 2021.