New York’s stunning drop in crime continued in the first month of this year, with police recording a nearly 17 percent decrease in total crimes and a 13 percent drop in murders.
Police said 47 people were slain in January – down from 54 in the same period in 1998.
That extends the recent decline. The 629 murders recorded last year were the lowest annual total since the early 1960s.
The good news spread even to the notorious 75th Precinct in East New York, Brooklyn, which has led the city in murders for the past several years.
The precinct recorded no murders in January – the first time since the 1970s that East New York has begun the year without a homicide.
Overall police statistics in seven categories of major crime show a drop of 16.8 percent, from 19,178 incidents last January to 15,966 this year.
The change is impressive when compared to January 1994, showing a 47 percent drop in total crimes that month.
The five-year decrease in January murders was 71 percent.
The new statistics included:
*A 21.5 percent drop in rapes, from 219 in January 1998 to 172 this year.
*A 16.2 percent decline in robberies, from 3,533 to 2,960.
*A 22.4 percent drop in burglaries, from 4,541 to 3,525.
*A 13.1 percent drop in grand larceny, from 4,385 to 3,811.