By Ben Fractenberg
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Violent crime rates, including murder and rape, have increased dramatically in Manhattan this year compared to the same period in 2009, according to NYPD crime statistics.
The number of murders in the borough this year had increased 110 percent as of April 18, going from just 10 in 2009 to 21, police data showed.
The uptick reflected in the weekly CompStat report comes as city officials are blaming budget cuts for the rising murder rate. The city has also seen several high-profile crimes this year, including a double-murder on the 2 train and the death of an 8-year-old boy, allegedly at the hands of his mother, in the Peninsula Hotel.
Family members of the victims of the rising murder rate are still trying to make sense of their relatives' murders.
In Harlem, Soledad Larios’ 17-year-old son, Ruben, was gunned down in February by a 24-year-old Bronx man who followed him home from a party.
“He had a job, he was trying to help our quality of life, and he was killed,” Lario said. “Where’s the justice in that?”
Murder is not the only crime on the rise.
Rape complaints in Manhattan rose nearly 46 percent to 89 this year as of April 18, up from 61 last year, according to the NYPD stats.
Felony assaults and burglaries were up slightly across Manhattan; robbery, grand larceny and grand larceny auto complaints were down, the data showed.
Citywide all major crime categories were up compared to the same period in 2009.
The citywide murder rate is up more than 27 percent this year.
