Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has claimed she has helped reduce repeated violent crime in the Bronx by preventing police involvement and enlisting ex-gangsters to help — but the latest numbers still show that overall crime increases.
The 33-year-old Liberal said making hospitals the center of crime-fighting rather than police stations has led to a “dramatic” reduction in serious crime.
“As leaders, we need to focus on solutions that work rather than what helps us look ‘tough’,” she crowed in a tweet Tuesday.
But the latest stats show that while murder and rape are down in the Bronx, crimes are up 10 percent and burglaries are up more than 2 percent, with total crime in the borough up 4.4 percent. increased compared to 2022.
The image is sharper than two years ago. Rape was up 11 percent, robbery was up 40 percent, felony was up 36 percent, and burglary was up 47 percent. Overall crime in the Bronx is up nearly 50 percent from 2021, according to the NYPD.
AOC proudly stated that there were no police at the hospital participating in the work. When the interviewer asked, “Are there officers in this hospital who are handling the issue?” She exclaimed, “Hell no,” threw her head back and laughed hysterically
The latest statistics show that while murder and rape are down in the Bronx, crime rates are up 10 percent and burglaries are up more than 2 percent, with total crime in the borough rising 4.4 percent compared to 2022. The picture is grimmer compared to two years ago. Rape was up 11 percent, robbery was up 40 percent, felony was up 36 percent, and burglary was up 47 percent. Overall crime in the Bronx is up nearly 50 percent, according to the NYPD
AOC tweeted an interview she gave to The Daily Show in which she talked about how they now treat crime as “a public health problem” and use the tactics of preventive medicine to stop recidivism.
Now in its seventh year, the program known as Stand Up to Violence is the first of its kind in New York, using the Jacobi Medical Center to treat crime as a disease.
AOC proudly stated that there were no police at the hospital participating in the work.
When the interviewer asked, “Are there officers in this hospital who are handling the issue?”
She exclaimed, “Hell no,” threw her head back and laughed hysterically.
The Bronx resident explained how the “response center” has shifted from prison to hospital. A team of case officers, including former inmates, then work with the crime victim to avoid retaliation.
“Some of our most effective people in this job are the former gang members, people who used to spend time at Rikers,” the progressive legislator said.
Complementing her comments, she tweeted, “Disruption through violence works to keep us safe. It is our task to build awareness and support among the population around effective solutions and alternatives to mass incarceration.’
But crime in her borough has increased overall, at 7,965 year to date, compared to 7,629 in 2022. Compared to 2010, overall crime is up 59 percent.
This mirrors a broader crime wave sweeping the rest of New York City.
The latest figures, published on Sunday, show that overall crime has increased by 0.64 percent. That may not seem like much, but compared to two years ago it is a 46 percent increase.
Compared to 2021, rapes are up 8 percent, robberies are up 45 percent, felonies are up 33 percent, burglaries are up 23 percent, grand thefts are up 54 percent, and auto theft is up 91 percent.
Murder was the only serious crime to show a declining trend, down 7 percent from two years ago.
“This is not what New Yorkers expect or deserve, and we will not stand for it,” NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said earlier this month when revealing the latest data.
“It is clear what we are dealing with: a perception among criminals that there are no consequences, not even for serious crime. We need tangible changes.’
Without naming names or going into specifics, Sewell seemed to buck the recent trend toward policies like bail reform and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s position to reduce or drop charges for many crimes.
‘[The justice system] must be fair, but it must first of all benefit the people it is supposed to protect and protect. When the focus is lost on those people — New Yorkers, who deserve to be fear-free — policies fail to deliver on their most fundamental goal, which is public safety,” Sewell said.
Ordinary New Yorkers need more help. Our police need more help. We need help from all corners of the criminal justice system and from everyone who lives, works or visits our great city.”
The latest crime spree comes after Mayor Eric Adams pledged last month to create a special metro police task force to tackle crime and homelessness in stations and trains.
Adams, a Democrat and former NYPD captain, was elected with a vow to crack down on crime and clean up the city.