All topics / Public Safety and Access to Justice / New York City Police Department
Forcible rape
Manage public safety programs related to criminal activity. — Reduce the incidence of crime.
Forcible rape reports jumped sharply in FY25 — but NYPD's own reporting attributes most of that jump to a New York State law that broadened the legal definition of forcible rape, which took effect that year, plus reports of past incidents newly counted under the new definition, not necessarily a rise in current assaults. FY26's year-to-date total (through March) is running below FY25's pace.
Researched July 15, 2026 — NYPD, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report, CBS News New York, "Rape reports on the rise across NYC"
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above. The dashed marker projects a full-year estimate at the current year-to-date pace.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual |
|---|---|
| FY22 | 1,168 cases |
| FY23 | 1,090 cases |
| FY24 | 1,070 cases |
| FY25 | 1,931 cases |
| FY26 (YTD) | 1,009 cases |
| FY26 (projected) | ~1,345 cases |
Why this is tracked
New York City created a professional, uniformed police department in 1845, following the model London had established with its Metropolitan Police in 1829, because the City's older system of volunteer night watchmen and constables was no longer adequate for a city growing as fast as New York was in the mid-19th century. Since then, managing programs to reduce and respond to criminal activity has remained the department's core public safety function, alongside the many other roles — traffic, counterterrorism, emergency response — it has taken on over nearly two centuries.
New York City Police Department agency page — this site's own agency narrative
Source: NYPD Office of Management Analysis and Planning — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported monthly.
Definition: Number of incidents of forcible rape corresponding to New York State Penal Law.