Nassau County crimes have dropped by nearly a quarter in five years, according to new statistics from the New York state Division of Criminal Justice Services, with officials describing the decline as historic.
The data, gathered by 24 law enforcement agencies within Nassau County, population 1.37 million, showed a 24.98 percent drop in overall crimes from 18,684 in 2013 to 14,016 in 2017. Property crimes dropped from 16,573 to 12,366 – or 25.38 percent – while violent crimes decreased 21.84 percent from 2,111 to 1,650 in the period.
“Thanks to collaborative and strategic efforts of law enforcement and the outstanding work of our community partners, Nassau County has seen a dramatic drop in major crimes,” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said, “and we are proudly the safest large county in New York.”
Suffolk County, with a population 1.49 million, reported crimes went down from 26,379 in 2013 to 20,543 in 2017, a drop of 22.12 percent. Westchester County, with an estimated population of just over 980,000, saw crimes decrease from 14,134 incidents in 2013 to 11,572 in 2017 – an 18.12 percent decline.
Queens County saw its incidents drop 17.67 percent from 39,913 to 32,860 in the period – or 17.67 percent. Kings County’s total crime went down from 59,056 incidents in 2013 to 49,766 in 2017, marking a 15.7 percent dip.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said police have focused on areas more prone to crimes to stop them before they happen.
“Decreases of major crime of these historic lows not only occur with the hard work of the men and women in law enforcement, but also by focusing on intelligence gathering, predictive analysis and appropriate allocation of resources,” Ryder said. “We have been able to identify patterns before they become serious issues and give them proper attention.”
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said the county’s success could be attributed to leadership in the Nassau County district attorney’s office and the Police Department.
“With our continued public safety efforts, District Attorney Singas’ leadership, and Commissioner Ryder’s data-driven policing, we share the same vision to ensure the safety and security of our residents and our communities,” Curran said. “We owe a debt of gratitude to all of our law-enforcement personnel who continue to make history.”
