Factsheet: 2020 Shootings & Murders
New York City faced two very real public safety challenges in 2020. The first was the public health crisis of COVID-19. The other was a spike in gun violence and murders. Both represent clear threats to the lives of New Yorkers.
The shooting and murder spike represented a reversal of years of steadily declining rates of both. While gun violence and murder in any number is unacceptable, the circumstances were neither unique to New York, nor without recent precedent. The rises in gun violence and murder were not accompanied by a general increase in crime, with rates in other crime categories either remaining steady or falling.
Murders in New York City, 1950-2020
There were 462 recorded murders in 2020, up from 319 in 2019 (45 percent increase). The last similar year was 2009, with 471 murders. While problematic, these statistics come nowhere near the levels of violence faced by the City in the 1980s and 1990s.
3,000
2,400
1,800
1,200
600
0 1950 1953 1956 1959 1962 1965 1968 1971 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 2019 2020
1 Data source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_New_York_City#Murders_by_year Factsheet: 2020 Shootings & Murders
Murder Rate, 1985-2020
Large cities across the country experienced the same trends as NYC last year. The murder rate (per 100,000 people) in NYC rose by 1.7 from 2019 to 2020. Other cities increased more dramatically: Los Angeles (+2.4), Philadelphia (+9.1), Houston (+5.5), and Chicago (+10.3).
USA NYC LOS ANGELES PHILADELPHIA HOUSTON CHICAGO
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0 ‘85 ‘86 ‘87 ‘88 ‘89 ‘90 ‘91 ‘92 ‘93 ‘94 ‘95 ‘96 ‘97 ‘98 ‘99 ‘00 ‘01 ‘02 ‘03 ‘04 ‘05 ‘06 ‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10 ‘11 ‘12 ‘13 ‘14 ‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20
2 Data source: FBI UCR Factsheet: 2020 Shootings & Murders
Shooting Incidents, 1993-2020
There were 1,531 shooting incidents in 2020, up 97 percent from 2019 (776). 2020 levels are comparable to 2003 (1,577) and 2011 (1,510).
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0 ‘93 ‘94 ‘95 ‘96 ‘97 ‘98 ‘99 ‘00 ‘01 ‘02 ‘03 ‘04 ‘05 ‘06 ‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10 ‘11 ‘12 ‘13 ‘14 ‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20
Shootings and Murders are Concentrated in Time and Place
Shootings historically rise in the summer months, though the increase in 2020 was sharper than in past years. Geographically, shootings are largely concentrated within a small number of Brooklyn and Bronx neighborhoods. Eight of these neighborhoods also had the highest number of shootings in 1993.
2020 2019 250
200
150
100
50
0 Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sept. Nov. Dec. 3 Data source: Top: NYPD Compstat; Bottom: NYPD Monthly Press Releases Factsheet: 2020 Shootings & Murders
Most Affected Neighborhoods’ 2020
*Neighborhoods also having the highest number of shootings in 1993.
Woodlawn, Bronx
West Bronx, Bronx * Grand Concourse, Bronx* Morrisania, Bronx Mott Haven, Bronx
Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn*
East Flatbush, Brooklyn*
East New York, Brooklyn* Brownsville, Brooklyn* Northern Crown Heights, Brooklyn*
Shooting Shooting Shooting 1993 (precinct) Number 2019 (precinct) Number 2020 (precinct) Number
Browsville (73rd) 304 East New York (75th) 51 East New York (75th) 102 East New York (75th) 283 Browsville (73rd) 34 Browsville (73rd) 96 Bedford Stuyvesant Morrisania (42nd) 31 Bedford Stuyvesant (79th) 61 (79th) 241 Bedford Stuyvesant (79th) 30 East Flatbush (67th) 60 Northern Crown East Flatbush (67th) 29 Mott Haven (40th) 55 Heights (77th) 238 Grand Concourse (44th) 29 Northern Crown Bushwick (83rd) 218 West Bronx (46th) 27 Heights (77th) 54 East Flatbush (67th) 202 Jamaica (113rd) 27 Grand Concourse (44th) 49 Mott Haven (40th) 193 Northern Crown Woodlawn (47th) 46 Grand Concourse (44th) 165 Heights (77th) 25 Morrisania (42nd) 44 West Bronx (46th) 161 Woodlawn (47th) 23 West Bronx (46th) 44 Bedford Stuyvesant (81st) 156
4 Data source: NYPD