But Violent Crime Rose Year over Year
By Hank Russell
Both Nassau and Suffolk Counties saw declines in index and property crimes from last year, but saw upticks in violent crime this year.
According to data from the state’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative, there were 4,535 index crimes committed in the first five months of 2026. That is down 3% from the same time period last year. In addition, the number of murders fell slightly from five to four. So far, 107 robberies were committed this year — down 5% from January to May 2025, when there were 113 robberies in the county.
However, the number of violent crimes rose 3% on a yearly basis to 596 from January to May in 2026 from 576 in the first five months in 2025. Additionally, rapes were up 41%, with 65 such crimes committed in the first five months of this year, compared to 46 committed last year, and aggravated assaults increased by 2% to 420 from 412 the previous year, according to GIVE data.
The number of property crimes in Nassau dropped 4%. GIVE found that there were 3,939 crimes recorded in the category from January to May in 2026, compared to 4,082 the same time last year. But while burglaries increased 5% from 234 in 2025 to 245 in 2026, the number of larcenies fell by 3% to 3,631 from January to May of this year, compared to 3,762 in the first five months of 2025, and 63 motor vehicles were stolen — down 27% from January to May 2025, when there were 86 motor vehicles stolen.
In Suffolk County, the number of index crimes dropped 14% from 5,842 in the first five months this year to 5,039 during the same time in 2025, according to GIVE data. The governor’s office pointed out that Suffolk was one of eleven police departments participating in GIVE that saw double-digit decreases in index crime.
However, violent crime was up 4% with 481 acts committed this year, compared to 464 the previous year, according to GIVE data. Aggravated assaults shot up 19% to 356 from January to May 2026 from 306 in the same time period last year. However, the number of murders fell sharply from 14 murders in January-May 2025 to only five this year. There was also a 4% drop in rapes from 47 to 45 and a precipitous 32% decline in robberies from 97 to 66.
There was a total of 4,558 property crimes in the first five months of 2026 — a 15% drop from the January-May 2025 figure of 5,378, based on GIVE data. Further, the number of burglaries, larcenies and motor vehicle thefts fell across the board. Compared to the first five months of 2025, the number of burglaries decreased 15% (from 185 to 158), larcenies fell by 15% (from 4,741 to 4,049) and motor vehicle thefts were down 22% (from 452 to 351).
Administered by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, GIVE funds personnel, overtime, technology, and equipment, and DCJS provides focused training and technical assistance, so participating agencies can address shootings, shooting deaths and firearm-related violent crimes.