Malliotakis for Mayor/Facebook

A recent post on Nicole Malliotakis’ Facebook page.

The public discussion of crime in the city has long focused on the seven major felonies—murder, rape, robbery, burglary, felony assault, grand larceny and grans larceny of an automobile—because those are the most serious crimes and the ones the city reports to the FBI. When someone refers to the “crime rate,” they’re talking about how often those seven crimes occur.

During the 2017 campaign, hoping to make the case that crime and disorder are on the rise under Mayor de Blasio despite the decrease in the crime rate, Republican nominee Nicole Malliotakis has drawn attention to increases in other crimes, some of which have increased during the mayor’s term.

The fact is, neither the top-line numbers on the seven major felonies nor a focus on a few cherry-picked lower-level crimes gives a complete picture of crime in New York City. (And of course, we’re talking here about reported and recorded crimes. Now and in the past, some crimes have gone unreported, and some have not been properly recorded by the police.)

Courtesy of the NYPD, here is a detailed breakdown of crime reports over the 2013 to 2016 period, covering the last year under Mayor Bloomberg and the first three full years under the current mayor. There are some increases. But the overall picture is of a decrease in crime.

2013 2014 2015 2016 CHANGE 13-16
7 Major Felonies Murder & Non-Negl. Manslaughter 335 333 352 335 0.00%
Rape 1,378 1,352 1,438 1,438 4.35%
Robbery 19,128 16,539 16,931 15,500 -18.97%
Felony Assault 20,297 20,207 20,270 20,847 2.71%
Burglary 17,429 16,765 15,125 12,990 -25.47%
Grand Larceny 45,368 43,862 44,005 44,279 -2.40%
Grand Larceny Of Motor Vehicle 7,400 7,664 7,332 6,327 -14.50%
Total Seven Major Felony Offenses 111,335 106,722 105,453 101,716 -8.64%
Other felonies Felony Possession Of Stolen Property 689 1,090 904 769 11.61%
Forgery/Theft_Fraud/Identity Theft 9,493 9,520 10,400 11,079 16.71%
Arson 1,187 1,205 1,026 802 -32.43%
Felony Sex Crimes 1,073 1,135 1,152 1,336 24.51%
Felony Dangerous Drugs 19,571 17,113 15,279 14,712 -24.83%
Felony Dangerous Weapons 5,155 4,605 4,848 5,465 6.01%
Fel. Criminal Mischief & Related Offenses 7,468 8,466 9,253 9,966 33.45%
Other Felonies (4) 13,014 13,735 13,658 14,217 9.24%
Total Non-Seven Major Felony Offenses 57,650 56,869 56,520 58,346 1.21%
Misdemeanors Misdemeanor Possession Of Stolen Property 2,337 1,469 1,145 932 -60.12%
Misdemeanor Sex Crimes 4,064 4,246 4,555 4,947 21.73%
Misdemeanor Dangerous Drugs 55,529 52,835 38,471 35,982 -35.20%
Misdemeanor Dangerous Weapons 6,522 6,166 5,685 5,006 -23.24%
Petit Larceny 85,602 85,121 81,598 81,274 -5.06%
Assault 3 & Related Offenses 53,738 53,847 42,654 42,422 -21.06%
Intoxicated & Impaired Driving 8,238 7,875 5,933 5,964 -27.60%
Vehicle And Traffic Laws 6,106 5,841 6,266 6,580 7.76%
Misd. Criminal Mischief & Related Offenses 36,765 38,793 39,606 38,893 5.79%
Criminal Trespass 13,459 14,540 11,473 9,799 -27.19%
Unauthorized Use Of A Vehicle 1,491 1,704 1,601 1,809 21.33%
Offenses Against The Person 1,380 1,334 1,293 1,225 -11.23%
Offenses Against Public Administration 10,687 10,303 9,405 8,929 -16.45%
Administrative Code 1,019 1,011 985 942 -7.56%
Frauds 4,936 5,331 4,788 4,640 -6.00%
Aggravated Harassment 2 26,972 19,725 20,511 21,328 -20.93%
Other Misdemeanors 40,505 38,230 46,879 44,253 9.25%
Total Misdemeanor Offenses 359,350 348,371 322,848 314,925 -12.36%
Total crimes 528335 511962 484821 474987 -10.10%