Gun busts have dropped over the last few weeks as the Big Apple reels from recent deadly violence against NYPD cops and a pandemic-era surge in shootings, new data shows.
Firearm arrests were down by nearly a quarter over the first three weeks of the year, according to the Compstat statistics released Monday, hours before Mayor Eric Adams was set to roll out his gun violence prevention plan.
Cops have made 315 firearm arrests so far in 2022, compared to 413 over the same time last year — a 23.7 percent dip.
Adams on Monday is expected to unveil plans to combat gun crime in the city in the wake of the Harlem shooting last week that left a rookie cop dead and his partner in critical condition. The slaying was described by sources as a “complete execution.”
The shooting Friday evening was the third act of violence that left an NYPD cop shot just last week and the fourth this year.
Hizzoner has said he will formally announce the reintegration of a revamped anti-crime unit, which was disbanded nearly two years ago.
Gun arrest tallies so far this year, however, are significantly up compared to before the NYPD launched a crackdown on guns at the end of summer 2020 in response to the surge in shootings.
Total collars for guns increased by 38.8 percent and 59.9 percent this year from the same periods in 2020 and 2017, respectively, the data shows.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio and his Police Commissioner Dermot Shea had touted the historic number of gun arrests by cops over the remaining months of their tenure as a sign that the Big Apple was making headway in its fight against the unprecedented gunplay.
But shootings have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels and recent figures show that shooting incidents remain on the rise.
As of Sunday, there have been 73 shooting incidents with 82 victims — an 87.2 percent increase in incidents from five years ago and double the number of victims, according to the new police data.
A Brooklyn detective suggested the gun crackdown should focus on firearms already in the Big Apple.
“Everyone talks about stopping guns from coming into the city. The guns are already here,” the detective said, proposing those facing gun charges being remanded without the option of bail. “If the gun manufacturers closed today and another gun was never made, people would be getting shot for decades.
“Politicians should push for jail time for people with guns. That would have a more immediate effect on saving innocent lives.”
Retired NYPD Sgt. Joseph Giacalone said the dwindling gun arrest numbers this year is “not a surprise.”
“You’re also dealing with a cold and snowy January so far, and there’s a lot less people out on the streets,” he said. “So a real test will be when the weather warms up. You know, I know Mother’s Day is a day for planting — but it’s also opening day for crime.”
In 2021, the police logged 4,485 gun arrests, a slight increase of 4.6 percent from the year before, according to NYPD data. Last year’s tally was down roughly 50 percent from 1993, the earliest dataset available, when more than 2,500 shootings were recorded.
Overall, four of the major crime categories have returned to pre-pandemic levels, with murder, rape, robbery and burglary all down slightly compared to the first few weeks of 2020.
But car thefts, another pandemic-era surging crime trend, were more than double two years ago, with 2022 so far recording 918 grand theft auto incidents, compared to 467 over the same period in 2020, the data shows.
Felony assaults are also slightly up but remained only a single-digit percentage increase over the short period of time.