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Fact Briefs Criminal Justice New York City

Did New York City Record Its Lowest Number of Shootings and Homicides in the First Half of 2025?

There were 351 shooting incidents, 413 shooting victims, and 149 murders during the first half of the year.

Ferdi Ferhat Özsoy   ·   August 9, 2025
Data from the first half of 2025 continues a long decline from New York City's peak of 2,262 murders in 1990. | Photo: kat wilcox/Pexels; Graphics: Adam Smigielski/Getty Images; med.asf/Canva | Illustration: Leor Stylar

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YES.

New York City recorded the lowest number of shooting incidents, shooting victims, and homicides in its modern tracking history during the first half of 2025.

NYPD data shows 351 shooting incidents, 413 shooting victims, and 149 murders between January 1 and July 6. These totals are lower than any comparable six-month period since the department began collecting data in the 1990s.

This continues a long decline from the city’s peak of 2,262 murders in 1990. Officials attributed the drop to real-time data analysis, hotspot deployments, and precision policing tools. While cases of rape rose slightly year-over-date, major felony offenses overall declined compared to the same period in 2024.

Broader trends have also been shaped by demographic change, economic development, community engagement, and prevention programs. These efforts are part of a multi-decade shift that has made violent crime less frequent across most areas of the city.

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Sources:

  • NYPD Press Release (July 2025): Link
  • NYPD Press Release (June 2025): Link 
  • CompStat 2.0 Dashboard (archived): Link
  • NYPD Historical Perspective (1990–present): Link
  • Newsweek – “NYC Had the Most Murders in 1990”: Link
  • New York Magazine (2008): "The Killing of Murder": Link

BEFORE YOU GO, consider: If not for the article you just read, would the information in it be public?

Or would it remain hidden — buried within the confines of New York’s sprawling criminal-legal apparatus?

I started working at New York Focus in 2022, not long after the outlet launched. Since that time, our reporters and editors have been vigorously scrutinizing every facet of the Empire State’s criminal justice institutions, investigating power players and the impact of policy on state prisons, county jails, and local police and courts — always with an eye toward what it means for people involved in the system.

That system works hard to make those people invisible, and it shields those at the top from scrutiny. And without rigorous, resource-intensive journalism, it would all operate with significantly more impunity.

Only a handful of journalists do this type of work in New York. In the last decades, the number of local news outlets in the state has nearly halved, making our coverage all the more critical. Our criminal justice reporting has been cited in lawsuits, spurred legislation, and led to the rescission of statewide policies. With your help, we can continue to do this work, and go even deeper: We have endless ideas for more ambitious projects and harder hitting investigations. But we need your help.

As a small, nonprofit outlet, we rely on our readers to support our journalism. If you’re able, please consider supporting us with a one-time or monthly gift. We so appreciate your help.

Here’s to a more just, more transparent New York.

Chris Gelardi
Justice Bureau Chief
A photo of Chris Gelardi
Ferdi Ferhat Özsoy is a strategic program leader with over a decade of experience building global partnerships, leading fact-checking initiatives, and advancing civic integrity across 80+ countries. He specializes in grantmaking, community building, and mission-driven operations at the intersection of journalism, technology, and… more
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