NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch faced tough questions from City Council over the crime rate in the nation’s biggest city – which is trending down overall, but is up in one borough, especially crimes involving guns.<\/p>\n
Tisch came to City Hall on Wednesday, armed with statistics to back up her claim that overall crime in New York has never been lower.<\/p>\n
“We did not just break records. We shattered them,” she said.<\/p>\n
Her testimony before the City Council’s Public Safety Committee was a passionate portrayal of a well-oiled, data-driven law enforcement machine.<\/p>\n
“2025 was a year of historic achievements by the NYPD across our precincts, our transit districts and housing developments,” Tisch said. “We set high expectations and then we exceeded them.”<\/p>\n
But the commissioner found herself on the defensive, when questioned by committee chair Oswald Feliz about the recent increase in shootings in his district in the Bronx.<\/p>\n
“Shootings are down citywide. In the Bronx, they’re up 35 points,” Feliz said. “So, it’s safe to say that the progress related to shootings hasn’t reached the Bronx.”<\/p>\n
Tisch responded, highlighting statistics on shootings in the Bronx.<\/p>\n
“Last year there were a hundred fewer people shot in the borough of the Bronx than the previous year,” Tisch said.<\/p>\n
Still, Feliz said that despite the progress, it seems like it’s going backwards.<\/p>\n
“The numbers related to shooting victims and shooting incidents and murder are going up this year compared to last year,” he said.<\/p>\n
Tisch again responded, saying, “What we cannot ignore is a record-breaking story, and I will not have the work of the members of the New York City Police Department mischaracterized.”<\/p>\n
NYPD commanders are adding 200 officers to the Bronx, which will be split into two patrol bureaus.<\/p>\n
“We understand the small uptick in gun violence. And there’s, you know, the New York City Police Department is front and center to reduce violence,” said NYPD Chief of Department Chief Michael LiPetri.<\/p>\n
“Are we up slightly on it? Yes. But we are working the same playbook, doing the same things,” Tisch said. “And on top of that, creating a new patrol borough. And I have every confidence that we are being-acting responsibly.”<\/p>\n
The commissioner is confident that the department’s strategies will pay off in the Bronx, where the majority of shootings are driven by a small number of violent street gangs.<\/p>\n
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