Murder up 24.5% in Mamdani’s NYC as other major US cities see 15% drop

According to a crime report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the first nine months of 2026 saw a 15.2 percent average drop in homicide rate across large cities in the country compared to the same timeframe in 2025. New York, however, was an outlier and saw an increase in homicides of 24.5 percent. Additionally, there were 14.2 percent more robberies. Total violent crime was up 5.1 percent in the timeframe in question.

In contrast, on average, there was a drop of 9.1 percent in robberies around the major US cities. Rapes also saw an overall decline of 3.5 percent.

Some of the cities that saw the sharpest drop in homicides included Memphis, Indianapolis, and Omaha. Fifty-one of the 66 police agencies across the association saw declines in overall crime. Across 49 districts, homicides fell.

Other cities aside from the Big Apple that saw an increase in crime include San Diego. There were 45.2 percent more killings in the city in the first nine months of 2026 compared to 2025. Las Vegas also saw a jump of 23.4 percent.

Although Washington, DC saw a massive drop in homicides at just under 30 percent, robberies surged in the nation's capital by 41.1 percent, according to the report. Overall violent crime in DC increased by 9.7 percent.

The increase in crime comes after Mamdani was elected to office. During his campaign, a number of police officers said that they would leave the force if he was elected over his past comments about defunding the police.