De Blasio claims ‘we are safer and better’ despite massive increase in murder rate

Standing behind a podium emblazoned with the slogan Black Lives Matter, he said "We now have fewer people in our jails than any time since World War II, and we are safer for it and better for it."

The situation he is calling "safer" and "better" for New Yorkers is actually pretty bad. Per the latest NYPD crime statistics, murder is up in New York City by more than 23 percent.

Here are some highlights from the report:

• Murder is up +23.1 percent, from 147 to 181 homicides, for the first six months of 2020 as compared to the same period of 2019.
• There was a 130.0 percent increase in citywide shooting incidents, from 89 in June 2019 to 205 in June 2020. The year-to-date spike through June 30 is +46 percent, up to 528 from 362.
• Burglary is up by +118.2 percent, to 1,783 from 817 in June, and has increased by +46.3 percent to 7,234 incidents compared to 4,943 year-to-date.
• Hate crime declined year-to-date to June 28, down by 38 percent, from 212 last year to 134 this year.

De Blasio has been vocal about defunding the New York City Police Department, and has pledged to pull 1 billion dollars from the force that protects New Yorkers from each other.

Additionally, as a result of the defunding and restructuring police departments conversation, plainclothes officers have been pulled from New York streets under the direction of Police Chief Dermot Shea.

During July, incidents of violent crime have continued to plague what was once one of the world's safest cities.

A one-year-old baby was shot to death while sitting in a stroller at a family party, a man was killed while walking with his little daughter across a street during daylight hours, and men and women have been subjected to violent assaults as well as murders.

Police officers across the city are anxious to stop this violence.