On Wednesday we told you about a guy who robbed a local smoke shop by distracting an employee with a lie about a huge dead rat in the bathroom.
Historically, robberies have been one of most common crimes in New York City. How common are crimes like these in Bushwick? Let’s talk about it!
In 2017, Bushwick experienced about 1,520 crimes in total. The most common type, which accounted for about a third of all crimes for the year, was grand larceny. In New York, grand larceny means stealing property that exceeds $1,000 in value, but it also includes any instance of pickpocketing. It doesn’t matter if it’s your iPhone, wallet, or a pack of gum: If someone swipes it from your pocket, that’s grand larceny.
Grand larceny is the only type of crime that has increased in Bushwick over recent years, with a 66 percent upswing between 2001 and 2017. Murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, and grand larceny of an automobile, were all down at least 35 percent since 2001.
Burglaries were the second most common crime, and felony assaults were the third, with 334 and 301 cases respectively. The instances of more serious crimes were much lower, with four murders and 28 rapes in 2017. Of course, these numbers only account for reported crimes, so it’s very possible that they’re happening more often.
With around 1,500 total crimes, Bushwick had about 13 crimes per 1,000 residents, which is slightly higher than average when compared with neighboring precincts to the north (the 104th precinct, which includes Ridgewood and other neighborhoods in west Queens, had 7.5 crimes per 1,000 residents), but slightly lower than average when compared with precincts to the south (the 81st precinct, which includes Bed-Stuy, had 18 crimes per 1,000 residents).
So that’s your Bushwick Fun Fact of the week. Have a question about the neighborhood that you want us to try and answer using data? Leave a comment below!
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Cover image courtesy of niu niu