Shooting and Murder Rates Higher in 2015

Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bratton announce the launch of the ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology.

By Jason Burgos

Despite a decline in overall crime rates since 2001, shootings and murders are on the rise in New York City. There were 149 shootings and 54 violent deaths (nine in the Bronx) by March 2nd of 2015, both up 20% from this time last year. The New York Police Department has responded by increasing patrols in troubled neighborhoods and by installing ShotSpotter, a gun shot detection system, in areas of high gun violence.

The Bronx has seen a bloody start to the New Year. Out of 11 murders, six were shooting related, with another three by a weapon other than a firearm. The most notable of these killings was when Michele Cox, a mother of five, was found gunned down execution-style in the stairwell of her Webster Avenue apartment building.

Cox’s death falls within the jurisdiction of the 48th Precinct, which has had two homicides already this year. Unlike other parts of the city, this area of the Bronx has not benefited from great declines in crime over the past decade. Murders are down 23% in the 48th between 2001 and 2014 — which is actually one of the lowest declines in the Bronx — while felony assaults (this category includes severe injuries from “deadly weapons”) are actually up 16% during the same period.

The uptick in violent offenses has led authorities to add more patrols to troubled neighborhoods. One area will be the 46th Precinct, in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx. No murders were committed in the precinct in 2015, but it has persistently high crime rates. Since 2001, murders have only declined by 18%, even lower than the 48th Precinct.

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton attributed the recent rise in shootings in part to drugs. “In this city, people are killing each other over marijuana more so than anything that we had to deal with in the ’80s and ’90s with heroin and cocaine,” he said.

In 2014, the NYPD also made two major adjustments to its arresting procedures. The first was after a federal ruling forced the department to reform its stop-and-frisk practices because it was deemed to be unconstitutional. This led to a 75% drop in stop-and-frisk searches in 2014. Former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly was a big proponent of this strategy, saying it saved lives by taking weapons off of New York City streets.

Along with a decline in stop-and-frisks searches, the NYPD made changes to its protocols in arrests people for marijuana possession. Individuals found with less than 25 grams of the substance receive a summons instead of being taken into custody.

Dr. Dennis Kenney, a professor in Criminal Justice at John Jay College and former Florida police officer, suggests there are many factors contributing to the increase. “If you look at everything from politics to social issues to race relations today, all sides are geared up for confrontation,” he says. “That some would turn violent isn’t too big of a stretch.”

Along with beefing up patrols in problematic areas, the NYPD announced on March 16th that it would be implementing ShotSpotter technology. The city is distributing hundreds of ShotSpotter microphone sensors in parts of the city. The device — which is already in use in places like Washington, D.C., Newark and Atlantic City — can detect a gunshot and send an alert to the NYPD, which would then send units to respond. The department will first use the software in five specific zones located in the Bronx and Brooklyn.

Police hope that the new application will cut down on response times. This, they say, could aid victims and help officers discover evidence that could be used to apprehend assailants. “Technology such as the ShotSpotter system can only help our police department keep crime down in the Bronx and New York City,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. in a statement on the tool’s launch.