New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch recently announced what they described as historic reductions in violent crime, specifically in shootings and homicides, over the past five months. Mayor Adams emphasized that these figures represent the "lowest number of shootings and homicides in recorded history," countering narratives of uncontrolled crime in the city. He has consistently highlighted these crime reduction statistics, particularly as he faces a tough reelection campaign, calling the latest data an "amazing achievement."

According to Mayor Adams, there has been a significant 54% reduction in shootings and a 41% reduction in homicides since January. These decreases are reported as the largest since the period just before the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, overall serious crime in New York City for the first five months of the year dropped by 4.9%, based on police data. Officials clarified that the baseline for these historical comparisons is around 1993, which coincides with the implementation of the Compstat statistical system, rather than the entirety of the city's recorded history.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch elaborated on these trends, particularly for the month of May. She noted that the recent Memorial Day weekend was historically significant, with no shootings reported on the holiday Sunday for the first time in 32 years. Tisch stated that this achievement capped a notable decline in May, where murders decreased by 46% compared to the prior period in 2024, shootings dropped by 39%, and the number of shooting victims fell by 38%. Richard Aborn, head of the New York City Citizens Crime Commission, a nonprofit advocating for public safety, commented that "these are numbers to celebrate."

Despite these reported successes in reducing violent incidents, there is a concurrent concern regarding the high number of illegal gun seizures. Since Mayor Adams took office in January 2020, his administration has overseen the seizure of a significant number of illegal firearms. According to the provided information, this includes a total of 22,000 guns confiscated over "the last nearly three and a half years," alongside 2,200 guns seized in 2025 up to the point of reporting. This substantial number of seizures, enough to arm a large U.S. Army division, has led some law enforcement experts to privately express concerns that it indicates a persistent and significant flow of illegal firearms into the city's five boroughs. Even former NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell had previously remarked that the supply of illegal guns appeared larger than police had anticipated.

The implications of these high seizure rates are a subject of discussion. Richard Aborn raised the question of whether the large number of confiscated guns means that such a quantity of illegal firearms was always present, or if their prevalence increased following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that loosened gun licensing restrictions. Chris Hermann, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, suggested that the five-month crime trend concerning shootings and homicides might signify a return to pre-pandemic crime levels. The ongoing efforts to combat gun violence continue amidst these complex dynamics of reduced reported crimes and persistent illegal firearm availability.