CIVIC CENTER — NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton called the uptick in violence the city has been experiencing lately — fueled by a spike in shootings — a "reality" of crime in NYC.
The city has now seen a nearly 10 percent increase in shootings through May 25, with 381 compared to 347 at the same point last year, according to the latest NYPD statistics.
The increase in shootings has been steady recently, with a 7.2 percent increase the previous week and a 5.4 percent increase the week before that.
“Crime is going to spike from time to time, that’s just the reality,” Bratton told reporters at an unrelated press conference on Tuesday.
Bratton added that he doesn't believe the jump is related to the department’s move away from the stop-and-frisk tactics deployed by former Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The gun violence was being driven by spikes in a number of neighborhoods in The Bronx and Brooklyn, according to NYPD statistics.
In the 47th Precinct in the north Bronx, which encompasses the neighborhoods of Williamsbridge and Edenwald, there were 23 shootings since the start of the year — more than double the number seen during the same time period in 2013.
In Brownsville, Brooklyn, the 73rd Precinct has seen the number of shootings go up by 50 percent to 33 this year.
And in the neighboring precinct of East New York there have been 22 shootings so far this year, up 38 percent over the same period last year, NYPD statistics show.
Despite the rise in gun violence, the number of shootings citywide also remains down over the long-term. Shootings are currently 20.5 percent below where they were at the same time two years ago, and 16.3 percent lower than five years ago.
In addition, most major crime, including murder and robbery, remain well below the levels seen at this point last year.
Bratton said the department would continue to deploy extra resources to these crime hot spots.
