Nassau County is on pace for more than 7,000 major crimes this year, roughly a 34% increase over the 5,230 major crimes reported throughout the county in 2021, according to statistics from the Nassau County Police Department.

A total of 4,675 major crimes took place in Nassau County through the first eight months of the year, nearly 90% of the total major crimes the county reported all of 2021, according to crime statistics obtained by Blank Slate Media under a Freedom of Information Law request submitted to the Nassau County Police Department.

Nassau has provided monthly crime statistics that were posted online in the past, but the county has not updated them since March.

Aside from grand larceny, the list of major crimes includes murder, rape, criminal sexual acts, sexual abuse, commercial robberies, other robberies, assault felonies, residential burglaries, other burglaries and stolen vehicles.

In 2021, a total of 3,201 or 61% of the county’s major crimes were grand larcenies, the highest percentage out of all other crimes, according to the statistics.

During the first eight months of 2022, county numbers show a total of 2,809 grand larcenies accounted for 60% of Nassau’s major crimes. Nassau County is on pace to report more than 4,200 grand larcenies this year, an increase of roughly 32% from 2021.

A total of 560 vehicles were stolen in Nassau last year, a figure that has already been surpassed during the first eight months of 2022 with 690 thefts in 2022, according to statistics. That figure is projected to grow to 1,032 by the end of the year, an increase of more than 84% from last year’s total.

A total of 13,190 “other crimes” occurred in Nassau during the first eight months of the year, a number projected to surpass 19,000 by year’s end, according to the figures.

The projected total would be an approximate 20% increase from last year’s total of more than 16,000 “other crimes” reported.

Nassau has reported five murders, eight sexual abuse instances, two criminal sexual acts and six rapes during the first eight months of the year. A total of 10 murders, 11 sexual abuse instances, 10 criminal sexual acts and 19 rapes were reported in 2021, according to the statistics.

More than 640 residential and “other” burglaries were reported to the police department all of last year, while 548 total burglaries were reported during the first eight months of 2022, according to the statistics. 

Nassau is projected to report more than 820 burglaries by the end of the year, an increase of roughly 28% from last year’s total.

Major crimes increased by 75% during the first three months of the year compared to last year, according to numbers recently posted on the police department’s website,

The police department reported 1,662 major crimes were committed throughout Nassau from Jan. 1-March 31, an increase of 950 crimes during the same time frame last year and on pace for more than 6,000 major crimes reported for the entire year.

In Nassau’s 3rd and 6th precincts, which make up a majority of North Shore communities, 645 major crimes occurred during the three-month span this year, compared to 333 last year, an increase of 93%. 

The 3rd Precinct, located in Williston Park, serves the communities of Albertson, Bellerose Terrace, Bellerose Village, Carle Place, East Garden City, East Meadow, East Williston, Floral Park Center, Garden City Park, Herricks, Mineola, New Cassel, New Hyde Park, North New Hyde Park, Roslyn Heights, Salisbury, Searingtown, Stewart Manor, Uniondale, Westbury, and Williston Park.

The 6th Precinct, located in Manhasset, serves the communities of  East Hills, Flower Hill Great Neck Plaza, Harbor Hills, Manorhaven, Munsey Park, North Hills, Plandome, Plandome Manor, Plandome Heights, Roslyn, Roslyn Estates, Roslyn Harbor, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock, Sea Cliff, Thomaston, Glen Head, Glenwood Landing, Great Neck, Greenvale, Manhasset, Roslyn Heights and University Gardens.

Efforts to reach elected officials for comments on the statistics and increase in major crimes were unavailing.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, during a July interview with Blank Slate Media, attributed New York’s bail reform laws to the rise in crime throughout the county.

Blakeman, who has been outspoken in his displeasure with the bail reform laws since he launched his campaign for county executive last year, said there is a “state of lawlessness” throughout New York and it has resulted in repeat offenders coming back to Nassau County to commit crimes.

“We have to get serious about changing the laws so that we don’t give criminals more rights than victims,” Blakeman said. “Unfortunately, that’s the way it is now. We’ve got people committing crime after crime and judges are not given the discretion whether or not to hold these people and I think it’s a huge mistake.”

Until the laws are modified, Blakeman said, police departments throughout New York will have a more difficult time doing their jobs.

“These criminals are allowed out without having to post bail, without any accountability for their actions and the number of crimes they have committed,” he said. “It’s dangerous and its made us all less safe.”

An analysis of Nassau County crime statistics for the past five years conducted by Blank Slate Media shows a decrease of more than 10% in major crimes from 2017-2021 but an increase of more than 16% increase in violent crimes.

Statistics that were reported by the Nassau County Police Department to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services show that a total of 14,039 major crimes were committed throughout the county in 2017, compared to 12,535 in 2021.

The biggest year-to-year decrease in major crime during the five-year analysis was from 2019 to 2020 with a drop of nearly 9% – from 13,387 to 12,244  -during the pandemic-riddled year, according to the statistics.

Nassau County spends $1,148 per capita on police and fire protection while the national median is $359, according to U.S. News & World Report finding in 2020 that named Nassau County the safest community in America. Public safety professionals account for 1.26% of the county’s population, compared with the national median of 0.70%.

The county again received that distinction as the safest community in America from U.S. News & World report in 2021.