To the editor:
Thanks to Jim Roberts for his report on Peekskill crime statistics on February 20, 2024. I support government transparency, so I’m happy to see statistics shared, but I found some of the numbers confusing.
The statistics, provided without a data source, were the city manager’s claims about population growth and crime increases, where he was quoted as saying: Just a few years of being single. ”
According to the U.S. Census, as of April 1, 2020, Peekskill had a population of 25,431. A 5 percent increase would mean 1,271 new people moving to Peekskill in one year. That’s 105 people a month, or every day for a family of three.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Census estimates Peak Skill’s growth rate from April 2020 to July 2022 to be 0.3%. Additionally, between 2021 and 2023, an average of 91 homes sold in Peekskill each year (8 homes per month), according to data from real estate firm Houlihan Lawrence. , from 2017 to 2020, the number was 107 per year. Since 2020, Peekskill has added 154 new apartments (216 units at Division 2, 52 senior units at 1847 Chrome Pound, and 80 units at 645 Main in the last quarter of 2023) ), these raw housing numbers don’t seem to support the idea that Peekskill has the ability to grow by thousands over the past few years. Even if he rented all the apartments to his family of four, the population would only be 616 people, less than half of his 1,271 people, which is a 5% population increase. And it seems even more uncertain whether any growth will translate into an increase in crime for him in 2022.
Again, perhaps the increased numbers are accurate and may be contributing to crime, but we need to see actual data to support this.
Finally, the main takeaway from this report appears to be that Peekskill’s investments in increasing police force are contributing to the reported crime reduction from 2022 to 2023. .
I hope that’s true. Everyone wants a well-policed city with low crime and a safe place to raise a family. However, the data presented fails to make that claim a convincing basis. What we are given is that in the fall of 2021 he had 44 officers, now he has 53 officers and crime has increased and decreased over that time. only.
But when were those officers hired? If they were all hired yesterday, obviously there will be no effect on the crime rate in 2023. Crime was on the rise Was anyone hired in 2022? If so, when? Police recruitment over time using cited and linked data sources Can I see a graph or table showing trends in crime rates and declining crime rates?
As I wrote in my January commentary, we need open data to make our cities better. The keyword here is Open. I don’t think you need to go through an intermediary (New York State Department of Criminal Justice or the Herald) to view crime data for your city.
We know that The Herald works hard to provide the best information in Peekskill with our limited resources, and that is greatly appreciated. Let’s continue to promote open data and cite and link to sources so data-related claims like those presented in the article can be fact-checked. Recent crime reports.
Frederick Denstedt 235 Ringgold Street
