“People move to Westchester, and stay in Westchester, because Westchester County is safe. Crime is down -it’s been down and it will continue to be down. “
Westchester County Executive George Latimer
On June 23, Westchester County Executive George Latimer pushed back on the state and national narrative about fears of crime by pointing to countywide data that shows crime continues to decline in Westchester, including last year, 2021.
“While other parts of the Country and State may be having issues with crime – Westchester County is making our downtowns and rural streets safer for the residents who call Westchester home. This is a safe county, this will continue to be a safe county, and all the credit goes to the brave men and women in uniform who are driving crime down,” said Latimer, who shared the following crime data:
- Total crime, property crimes, violent crime are all down from when comparing 2017 to 2021.
- Crime generally dropped each year as compared the prior year, except in 2020.
- In 2020, there was a spike in property crime – and therefore total index crimes – as compared to the year before. But the 2020 numbers for both total index crimes and property crimes was still less than the 2017 numbers.
- In 2020, violent crime was down as compared to the year before even as property crimes rose
- Violent crime dropped every year from 2017 to 2021 as compared to a prior year.
Latimer made a similar announcement last year, but did not have the 2021 data. Now with five years of crime data, (2107-2021) all crime continues to be down in Westchester County. Counting all four quarters of 2017-2021, crime in Westchester County has dropped significantly in all categories.
The Westchester County Department of Public Safety compared 2017 through 2021 and saw a decrease across the board.
- 20.4 % Decrease in Index Crimes
- 22.9 % Decrease in Violent Crimes
- That includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
- 16.7 % Decrease in Property Crimes
- That includes burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.
Source: DCJS, Uniform Crime Reporting File
Department of Public Safety Acting Commissioner Terrance Raynor “The Westchester County Police remain committed to working collaboratively with all local, state and federal partners to make a safe Westchester County even safer. We do so in multiple ways, from hosting the multi-agency Real Time Crime Center, to assigning personnel to joint task forces, to partnering with individual departments on a variety of investigations. By working together, we can continue to keep the people of Westchester safe.”
Latimer released the latest crime statistics in Ardsley, where crime has also dropped. In Ardsley, total index crimes follow a similar trend to the the county, trending down from 2017.
Latimer said: “Here in Westchester we pride ourselves on working together – across jurisdictional lines and across party lines – the result is a better more cohesive police response. Our police are doing a remarkable job and I am incredibly proud of them. People move to Westchester, and stay in Westchester, because Westchester County is safe. Crime is down -it’s been down and it will continue to be down. Together we will fight to keep our streets safe.”
County Public Safety credits the drop in crime to the work of the local municipalities, the collaborative efforts at the Real Time Crime Center and community policing. The Westchester County Police Department operates a real-time crime center that includes automated license plate readers and artificial intelligence. The hub is where police collect and analyze surveillance, intelligence, and data from a number of sources in real-time. Every police agency in Westchester County is represented at the Real Time Crime Center.
All three crime categories listed below:
Index Crimes
2017 – 11,580
2018 – 9,846
2019 – 9,664
2020 – 10,307
2021 – 9,216
Property Crimes
2017 – 9,267
2018 – 8,169
2019 – 8,031
2020 – 8,723
2021 – 7,712
Violent Crime
2017 – 1,953
2018 – 1,677
2019 – 1,633
2020 – 1,584
2021 – 1,504
