Mayor Byron Brown made a statement about crime in Buffalo on Thursday after visiting a 13-year-old shooting victim in the hospital.
“At a time like this when a child is struck by gunfire, statistics don't matter,” Brown said. “But statistically crime is down this year from the same period of time last year. It's down overall. Violent crime is down.”
The 7 Eyewitness News I-Team fact-checked that claim and we found that statement to be true -- with a little context.
According to a statement from a crime analyst at the downtown police station that cites data from January to July of 2017, crime is down 7 percent overall compared to last year.
As for violent crime -- things like murders, rapes and robberies -- offenses of that category are also down by 12 percent.
Year-to-year, shootings in Buffalo where someone was injured decreased by 24 percent.
Mayor Brown is right: Crime is down in #Buffalo from 2016 to 2017, according to data from the Erie Crime Analysis Center. pic.twitter.com/l1Bmzkyomm
— Charlie Specht (@Charlie_Reports) July 7, 2017
But you don't have to go back far to see the last time crime in Buffalo spiked.
Two years ago -- from 2015 to last year -- FBI statistics show that violent crime went up by 5 percent.
Also, there were nearly 100 more shootings last year than there were two years ago, according to department data analyzed by The Buffalo News.
However, just two years ago crime in #Buffalo spiked, according to @FBI data and an analysis of @BPDAlerts data by @TheBuffaloNews. pic.twitter.com/JnqZOJxV91
— Charlie Specht (@Charlie_Reports) July 7, 2017
Click here to take a closer look at the latest crime numbers for Buffalo and other cities from the FBI.
