NEW YORK: The New York Police Department (NYPD) reported record-breaking declines in gun violence and homicides in January, marking the safest January on record for shootings and murders, according to data released Monday by the department.
Police recorded 40 shooting incidents and 47 shooting victims, the lowest totals ever documented for the month. Murders fell sharply to 12 citywide, a 60 percent decrease from January 2025 and the lowest January total in recorded history. Manhattan and Staten Island reported no murders during the month.
Overall major crime declined 6.7 percent, dropping from 8,940 incidents in January 2025 to 8,338 this year. Significant reductions were also reported in burglary, robbery, and auto theft. Burglary saw one of the steepest drops, falling 27.8 percent, reaching the lowest January level ever recorded.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch credited the declines to a data-driven deployment strategy and targeted enforcement efforts.
“For the first month of the year, the women and men of the NYPD delivered the fewest shooting incidents, victims, and murders in recorded history,” Tisch said in a statement. “Our strategy is simple: don’t just get tough on crime, get smart.”
The department’s Winter Violence Reduction Plan, launched in January, deployed up to 1,800 officers nightly across 64 high-crime zones, including public housing developments and the subway system. Since the plan’s inception, major crime in those areas has dropped 36.3 percent, police said.
Retail theft declined 16 percent, bucking seasonal trends. The NYPD said the decrease resulted from focused investigations at high-theft locations and sustained enforcement rather than short-term patrols.
Crime in School Safety Zones, implemented at the start of the school year, dropped more than 56 percent since September. Shooting incidents in those zones fell nearly 77 percent, with shooting victims down 80 percent, according to police data.
Public housing developments also saw a 12.9 percent decline in crime, and the department reported no shooting incidents in city housing since January 15.
Transit crime rose slightly, increasing by 10 incidents compared to last year, but officials noted that January 2026 remained among the safest Januarys on record outside of the COVID-19 pandemic years.
While most crime categories declined, rape reports increased 6.4 percent, rising from 157 to 167 incidents. The NYPD attributed part of the increase to expanded legal definitions under recent state law changes and noted that domestic-violence-related cases accounted for roughly half of the reports. The department recently launched a new Domestic Violence Unit with 450 dedicated investigators.
The NYPD also reported a sharp increase in bias incidents, with hate crime investigations rising 152 percent year over year. Anti-Jewish incidents increased 182 percent, accounting for more than half of all hate crimes reported in January.
All statistics are preliminary and subject to revision, the department said.
