Staten Island secession might not be a bad thing — for New York City’s crime stats.
Murders in the “forgotten” borough have surged 129% so far this year over last year, to 16 from seven.
Major crimes are up in every category and 17% overall, according to NYPD data through Sept. 10.
By contrast, murders citywide are down 10%, to 280 from 311 this year. And major crimes have dipped 0.2%, the data shows.
Staten Island — where the migrant crisis has prompted the latest wave of secession sentiment — is the only borough whose murder rate is going in the wrong direction and he only one to see increases across all major crime categories.
“This year’s increase in crime on Staten Island is wholly unacceptable,” District Attorney Michael McMahon told The Post, noting his office “has work to do” because of “misguided and harmful policies visited upon us by outside forces.”
Bail reform; changes to discovery protocols in criminal cases that have led to a “mass exodus” of prosecutors; along with the Raise the Age law, which lifted the age of criminal responsibility from 17 to 18, are among the “devastating” policy decisions sparking a more than 20% jump in juvenile crime boroughwide and “a total lack of accountability for teenage lawbreakers,” McMahon said.
Some of the murders and robberies are fueled by street gangs, mostly on the North Shore, said one recently retired veteran detective.
“These guys are just out there trying to make a name for themselves,” the detective said, adding, “They walk around with guns and there’s no stop and frisk anymore.”
In May, innocent bystander Jamoure Harrell, 13, was fatally shot in a turf war between rival gangs inside Rev. Dr. Maggie Howard Playground, near NYCHA’s Stapleton Houses, police said.
On July 8, a pair of thieves shot and killed deli clerk Bassam Khateeb, 35, during a Saturday night stick-up at Manor Deli and Convenience.
In the borough’s 120th Precinct on North Shore, murders are up 100%, to 10 from 5. In the 121st Precinct, which covers Willowbrook, Westerleigh, Port Richmond, Mariners Harbor and Elm Park, there have been four murders in 2023 so far — compared to none last year.
The 122nd and 123rd Precincts, which cover the mid-island and South Shore respectively, reported one murder each.
