By Kevin Deutsch
[email protected]
Reports of rape in the Bronx have continued to surge during the first quarter of 2019, reflecting a citywide increase in sexual assault reporting during the #MeToo era, NYPD data shows.
There were 107 documented reports of rape in the Bronx as of March 31 – the last date for which official statistics are available – representing a 27.4 percent increase from the 84 rapes reported during the same period last year, according to NYPD Compstat data.
The Bronx total represents nearly a quarter of all rapes reported citywide.
Murders in the borough are down from last year, from 19 to 15, felony assaults down from 1,308 to 1,244, burglaries down from 496 to 401, grand larcenies down from 1,473 to 1,302, and robberies up slightly from 746 to 762, the data shows.
The Bronx rape numbers reflect a citywide trend of more reports of sexual assault, spurred in part by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, which have led to more women coming forward with stories of assault and abuse.
The number of rapes recorded by police in all five boroughs was 438 as of March 31 – a 9.5 percent increase from the 400 rapes reported during the same period last year, the data shows.
Speaking at a Compstat meeting Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that while crime is at an all time low citywide, “we are working to make this a reality in every zip code.”
“We are doubling down on our efforts to bring these communities and police together to find new ways to fight crime and make our city safer and fairer,” de Blasio said.
NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill also announced a new plan Tuesday to focus on six precincts where violent crime outpaced the rest of the city. Three of them – the 40th Precinct in the South Bronx, the 41st Precinct in Hunts Point, and the 42nd Precinct in Tremont – are in The Bronx.
O’Neill said that he and the rest of the department’s brass are holding targeted community meetings in each of the precincts to identify strategies and resources needed to bring crime down.