Murder rate in the Bronx at its lowest since 1963

Last year, the total number of people murdered in the Bronx was the lowest it’s been since 1963. In 2012, 112 people were murdered in the Bronx, which gave it a murder rate of eight per 100,000 residents. 

That makes the Bronx murder rate lower than that of Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Chicago, Buffalo, Cleveland and some other major cities.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. heralded the historically low number of murder victims.

“We are fed up with the negative stereotypes and the erroneous images about who we are as a borough. The Bronx is a different place from when I was a teenager in the 80s and 90s, and hopefully we can make 2013 safer. This is a good first step, but we have much more work ahead of us,” Mr. Diaz said.

Despite the boroughwide decrease in 2012, there were six murders in the confines of the 50th Precinct — which includes Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights, Van Cortlandt Village and Marble Hill — compared to four in 2011, five in 2010 and only one in 2009.

Since the NYPD started tracking crime statistics through its CompStat program 19 years ago, the Bronx has seen a 70.4 percent drop in total crime, including a 78.1 percent drop in murders, according to the Bronx borough president’s office.

“The Bronx is outpacing the nation in a wide variety of areas, including crime reduction. These statistics show that our borough, which continues to suffer from an inaccurate image as a dangerous place, is indeed outpacing some of the nation’s biggest cities when it comes to violent crime reduction,” said Mr. Diaz. 

The borough president continued, “Given these numbers, it’s time for people across the nation and the world to reconsider how they think about the Bronx.”