Post-Pandemic Crime Rates Continue to Rise, Up 30 Percent
Will Latimer and Gashi Have Another Self-Congratulatory Campaign Press Conference Lying About Safety in Westchester?
A year after Westchester County Executive George Latimer and BOL Chairman Vedat Gashi lied about government data demonstrating clear and undeniable growth in Westchester’s crime rates, Dan Branda today provided an alarming update on Westchester's crime rates.
Crime in Westchester continues to rise, now up 30 percent post-pandemic, while the administration of County Executive George Latimer and Board of Legislators Chairman Vedat Gashi fail to take meaningful action—or even acknowledge the problem.
“While the administration of County Executive George Latimer and Chairman Vedat Gashi continues to evade responsibility, I am here to demand answers and ask concrete questions toward addressing Westchester’s rising crime” Branda asked. “With no accountability from our elected leaders, crime is up 30 percent in Westchester with only thoughts and prayers to curtail it. The problem is, once you misrepresent crime data to help win an election, creating a false sense of security about safety in our community, it becomes damn hard to ask the tough questions and develop real solutions.”
Last year, during Gashi’s re-election campaign, Latimer and Gashi held a press conference that falsely asserted “Crime is down in Westchester—Again.”
Branda also pointed out that Gashi’s Board of Legislators missed an opportunity to address growing crime when it accelerated the confirmation process of Public Safety Commissioner Terrance Raynor this year, despite Westchester leadership’s awareness that the crime trend was continuing.
After just 5 minutes, 15 seconds, in front of the Board of Legislators’ Appointment Committee on May 6, in which Raynor addressed diversity hires and made a top-line statement about collaborating with other departments, Legislator Woodson-Samuels moved for a vote and the Democratic supermajority unanimously consented, ending the conversation before it began.
“Gashi’s Board of Legislators has consistently abdicated its duty to provide meaningful oversight and hold leadership accountable. Despite Westchester experiencing a 30 percent increase in crime under Raynor’s watch, his confirmation process lacked any constructive scrutiny or critical discussion of the county’s crime trends. Terrance Raynor might very well be the right person to lead the county police force, but the legislators failed to publicly confirm his leadership credentials and vision for Westchester. Instead of focusing on the real issues affecting our residents, they rushed to rubber-stamp his appointment—not even waiting for the recommendation of the Police Advisory Board before voting—instead of seeking answers,” Branda said.
Branda called for the Board of Legislators to immediately schedule a hearing on the county’s crime trends and provided a list of questions that should be asked of Raynor by the Board, noting that while the wrong answer to the first question should be disqualifying, the conversation could otherwise be collaborative and productive while assuring Westchester residents that the county government has a plan.
These are the questions our county leadership should be asking if they truly care about the safety of Westchester’s residents:
- Is crime in Westchester trending up?
- Before Westchester’s elected leaders hold press conferences falsely announcing that crime is down, what data and methodology should they use to assure residents that their assertions are factually correct and meaningful?
- What is your long-term vision for keeping Westchester safe?
- What specific steps are being taken by the Department of Public Safety under your leadership to address the sharp post-pandemic rise in crime?
- How do you assess the effectiveness of the current crime prevention initiatives? What are those initiatives?
- What are the possible solutions that the Department of Public Service can adopt to reverse the current crime trends?
- What resources or additional support does the Department of Public Service need to reverse the current crime trends?
- What underlying trends are supporting this rise in crime? When speaking of collaboration, should the Department of Public Services look to work with departments or organizations outside law enforcement? Should the Board or the County Executive facilitate those relationships?
- What strategies are in place to improve police–community relations, especially in light of the increases in aggravated assault and property crime?
- How is the county addressing the 43 percent rise in motor vehicle thefts and the 35 percent rise in burglaries that Westchester has seen in recent years?
- How do you plan to coordinate with local law enforcement agencies and community groups to tackle specific crime hotspots in the county?
Trend Analysis: Crime on the Rise in Post-Pandemic Years
Sourcing his analysis in the public Index Crime statistics, provided by New York State’s Division of Criminal Justice Services Uniform Crime Reporting System, Branda pointed out that crime trends have worsened significantly in the two years following the pandemic, with consistent year-to-year increases:
- Total Index Crimes: From 2021 to 2023, total crime surged by 30%, from 9,285 to 11,992 incidents, marking a significant rise that the administration has failed to address last year when crime was up only 20 percent year-over-year.
- Violent Crime: There has been an 18% increase in violent crime in the same post-pandemic period with consecutive year-over-year increases of 9 percent and 8 percent, including consistent and significant rises in aggravated assaults (including assaults where the victim was shot or stabbed).
- Burglary and Larceny: Property crime in Westchester County rose by 29 percent, while burglary increased by 35 percent and motor vehicle theft increased 44 percent.
According to the data, crime is also up 3 percent against Latimer’s cherry-picked benchmark year of 2017.
“Latimer and Gashi can’t keep pretending everything is fine when the data is screaming otherwise. The time for self-congratulation is over. It’s time for real leadership, real answers, and a real plan to confront the rising tide of crime. Westchester needs not just a comprehensive crime reduction plan that addresses the root causes of the current crime trends, but also structural reforms to ensure real accountability—like electing the leader of the county’s police department to make them directly answerable to the people,” Branda concluded.