Crime Continues to Surge; Mayor Adams Lays Out Wide-Reaching Plans to Create Public Safety

By Yehudit Garmaise

Although many politicians felt crime would decrease as the pandemic finally slows down, crime rates continue to climb, according to the NYPD’s statistics for December 2021.

Mayor Eric Adams campaigned on the promise to bring back public safety to New York City, and he has his work cut out for him.

In December 2021, for instance, the NYPD recorded 11 murders, which is up from December 2020, when eight murders were committed in New York City.

In addition, the NYPD recorded 256 robberies last month, which also is increased from the 248 robberies that were committed in 2020.  

Shockingly, crimes of grand larceny, which include any thefts of property that is worth more than $1,000, soared to almost double: from 598 in December 2020, to 1,004 last month, and crimes in the category of grand larceny auto also surged from 139 in December 2020 to 215 in December 2021. 

Thankfully, hate crimes went down from 5 reported in December 2020 to just two last month.

After speaking of the many New Yorkers who have been victims of senseless gun violence in just the first three weeks that Mayor Adams has been in office, today at City Hall, he announced his specific plans that will involve “the NYPD, every city agency, our courts, and the successful anti-violence Crisis Management System,” the mayor said about his ambitious plans to bring back public safety to New York City. “We are going to involve every community, every precinct, and our state and federal partners.”

“We’re going to turn our pain into purpose,” said Mayor Adams, who said that New Yorkers “will see and feel changes quickly,” when he “ramps up [NYPD enforcement, deploys more officers on the streets and in the subways, and gets our courts at full capacity.

“As your mayor: This is my number one priority: Keeping you safe. I campaigned on it; I will deliver on it.”

As Mayor Adams laid out his blueprint for united action among all the city's agencies and many levels of government, he said, “he will fight back against gun violence and build communities where every resident feels safe.

“We will not surrender our city to the violent few.” 

Instead of bringing in hundreds of mental health professionals or proposing to so as, as other elected officials have done, Mayor Adams said, “the best antidote to crime is a career.”

The mayor is taking action to that idea by promoting legislation that will not only ensure that residents have access to good jobs and apprenticeships, but the law will require firms that do business with New York City to hire New Yorkers from targeted communities. 

Mayor Adams also said he will launch Summer Youth Employment programs for kids and expand community hiring efforts. 

“There is no time to wait,” said the mayor, who called his blueprint, “the biggest action in years to protect New York City.” “We must act. The sea of violence comes from many rivers. 

“We must dam every river that feeds this greater crisis.”