When it comes to violence in New York City, the NYPD's chief of department says it's not just the police who are responsible for turning crime around.
It is important to note that both shootings and murders are down across the city, according to NYPD statistics.
One of the major takeaways from News 12's exclusive interview with Chief of Department Kenneth Core is what he calls a revolving door for criminals and a feeling of deja vu for his officers.
In the last 28 days, the NYPD says murders are down 36.4% and shootings are down 16.2%. Looking at the statistics year-to-date, both murders and shootings are down about 11%. When it comes to bringing down crime further, Core says the NYPD plays just one role in the criminal justice system.
He says gun arrests are at a 27-year high and major crimes arrests are at a 21-year high, but that many of those who are arrested are repeat offenders.
"Frustratingly we see many of them get arrested, released, arrested, released, and sometimes for violent felonies," he says. "It’s the availability of guns. It’s the fact that there are way too many people right now who are comfortable carrying guns because they feel like there are no consequences. It's going to take time to where we need to go but we really need the entire criminal justice system to get on board, and that's how we're going to turn the tide"
Core says the department is laser-focused on finding the relatively small group who are responsible for what he says is much of the crime.