Is New York the safest state in the US?

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Several counties downstate—Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester—plus Staten Island and Long Island made the U.S. News and World Report ‘s list of America’s top 25 safest communities. After the list went live on August 6, Gov. Kathy Hochul took the opportunity to highlight a declining statewide crime rate.

Each county’s violent crime rate helped determine rankings; Hochul said that crime in New York State is down 6% year over year. She cited data from both the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and NYPD CompStat and found:

• Rockland County: -26%
• Nassau County: -18%
• Putnam County: -15%
• Suffolk County: -13%
• Westchester County: -8%
• Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island: -3.5% combined

Hochul attributed the decrease at least in part to over $800 million spent on crime-fighting initiatives. “Our approach is working, as murders, shootings, violent crime, and property crime have declined statewide,” Hochul said in a written statement. “Public safety is my top priority and I’ve been laser-focused on fighting crime from the moment I took office.”

Those initiatives included programs targeting communities hit the hardest by violence, Hochul’s office said, such as:

• Close to $36 million: Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative
• $21 million: SNUG Street Outreach program
• $18 million: Crime Analysis Centers statewide
• Up to $20 million: Project RISE

Beating every other state, New York had eight counties on the list. With four counties in the top ten New York also saw Nassau County on Long Island ranking at No.1. And in total, 10 out of the 25 safest communities in the U.S. were in the Northeast, making it the country’s safest region, according to the U.S. News and World Report.

Responding to the ranking, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman tweeted , “Our ranking as the safest county in the country is a tribute to our police officers, district attorney, and other law enforcement professionals who put their life on the line each and every day to protect the residents of Nassau County.”

In July, Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams also hailed a drop in crime on the subway. Citing NYPD data, they said that transit crime was down 44% compared to the same week in 2023, and 11% lower than reported 2019.

“Our public transit system is the lifeblood of our city,” Adams said at the time. “Keeping New Yorkers safe on the subway is key to ensuring that New York remains the safest big city in America.”

In May, Hochul also lauded broad progress with gun violence. She said the state reached historic low shootings overall , with fewer victims and deaths when comparing 2021 and 2023. State police also snatch up many more illegal guns than they used to, nearly tripling since 2020. Hochul said that murders outside of the Five Boroughs had dropped 29% between 2022 and 2023, and by 11% in the city.

Hochul’s office also cited mortality data from the CDC to determine that New York’s homicide rate of 4.3 per 100,000 people sits below the national average of 7.6 deaths per 100,000. She sent out a tally of shootings that caused injuries in regions of the state outside of the city. The chart covers the last three years , though the final column only represents one-third of this year:

“Common sense gun safety measures create safer communities,” said Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado at the time. “By taking action to address gun violence, we are saving lives and moving our state forward.”

Even so, a Siena Poll conducted at the end of July among over a thousand New Yorkers found that 54% think crime got worse over the last year. And 51% of those surveyed said that, generally, the state is going in the wrong direction.

The legislative session in Albany ended in June. Afterward, Assemblymember Andrew Goodell said, “My biggest disappointment relates to the continued failure of the State Legislature to […] recognize that the ‘catch and release’ lack of bail for over 400 crimes results in higher crime rates.”

But according to the Brennan Center , “There is no clear connection between recent crime increases and the bail reform law enacted in 2019.”

On August 13, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. It supports the claim that regulating gun sales across state lines reduces violent crime while supporting law enforcement.

“We know that these commonsense laws work and have prevented people from illegally obtaining firearms that could pose a significant threat to others,” James said in a written statement. “These laws save lives.”

James joined 22 other attorneys general—from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia—on the brief, filed in response to an unlicensed arms dealer in South Carolina. The defense team of Steven Perez argues that his Second Amendment rights were violated when he was arrested and convicted for receiving illegally bought weapons in New York City.

Take a look at the graph below from the Prison Policy Institute charting New York’s declining prison population :

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