New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday that crime in the Big Apple has reached historic lows.
From the start of the year through May 31, the city saw the lowest number of shootings and homicides in recorded history, according to the mayor’s office. Adams has also removed over 22,000 “illegal guns” since assuming office in 2022, according to a press release.
There were 264 recorded shootings and 112 recorded homicides. Those numbers narrowly broke previous records of 267 shootings in 2018 and 113 homicides in 2014 and 2017 in the same period.
“When I took the oath of office as mayor, I made a promise that we would make this city safer and that we would drive down crime,” Adams, who is engaged in a tough battle for reelection, said in a statement. “Today, the numbers prove that we have not just kept that promise — we have exceeded it.”
He continued, “These historic achievements are the direct result of our administration’s commitment to precision policing, strategic deployment of resources, and the tireless dedication of the brave men and women of the NYPD. But let’s be clear: we are not even close to done. It’s not enough for New Yorkers to be safer — they must feel safer, too. We are building on this momentum with our NYPD Quality of Life Division and surging multi-agency resources to neighborhoods that need them most through our Community Link program. Together, and every single day, we are building a safer, stronger city for all 8.5 million New Yorkers.”
New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch also celebrated the report, saying Adams’s progress came despite New York criminal justice reforms instituted at the state level, many of which took effect in 2020. Tisch has particularly targeted updates to “discovery” laws, which she said allow for case dismissals for violent offenders, and changes made to bail regulations, which she said amount to a “catch-and-release” policy. The changes have created a “revolving door” for recidivists that has made the system more lenient on repeat offenders and tackling crime more difficult for leaders, Tisch said.
“Results like this never happen by accident, and certainly not at a time when the state’s criminal justice laws have made a revolving door out of our criminal justice system,” Tisch said Sunday. “Here’s how your Mayor and your NYPD cops delivered the safest January-May for gun violence in New York City: Three-plus years of relentlessly going after guns on our streets; and a data driven policing strategy that puts more cops in the right places at the right times to do what they do better than anyone else in the world.”
The report followed the recent release of data from the Major Cities Chiefs Association showing that big cities across the country are experiencing similar trends, indicating a decline in violent crime. Sixty-eight of the United States’s largest cities reported an average decrease in crimes such as homicide, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery during the first quarter of 2025, the MCCA said earlier this month.
Adams said New York City also saw historic lows for crimes committed specifically in May.
Last month, the city recorded 54 shootings and 18 homicides, down from 61 shootings and 19 homicides in 2019.
However, critics maintain that crime in New York City, particularly in the subway system, remains a problem.
Despite this, in April, Adams celebrated the release of data showing subway crimes decreased to a 27-year low, marking the first quarter in seven years without any murders on the transit system.
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The city also appears to be on the rebound after grappling with a surge of robberies last year. In May, the New York City Police Department reported robberies dropped by 13.5% in April compared to the same point in 2024.
The news came as Adams recently announced a $1.6 million initiative to combat robberies. Hundreds of local businesses now have access to a “panic button,” or “SilentShields,” to alert local police in the event of suspected criminal activity.
