“Yonkers is, continues to be, the safest big city in New York state,” Mayor Mike Spano said when announcing crime statistics for 2025. “We have recorded one of the lowest crime totals in Yonkers’ history. Our streets are safer. Overall crime was down 16% last year, 2025. Violent crime was down 27%. Property crime was down another 12%. And, since 2011, when this administration took office, the overall crime has dropped 42%. Violent and property crimes also down 42%, virtually cutting it all in half.”
Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza joined with Spano and other city officials in making the crime statistics announcement.
“Today’s numbers show what sustained investment in public safety, strong community partnerships, and the dedication of our police officers can accomplish,” Spano said. “We will continue working every day to keep our neighborhoods secure and our residents protected.”
Additional highlights include a 100% homicide clearance rate. The clearance rate measures the rate of crimes that are solved. Yonkers, the state’s third largest city, recorded the lowest number of bullet-to-body shootings among the five largest cities in New York state.
There were 529 violent crimes involving murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault reported in Yonkers in 2025. That compares with 729 such crimes in 2024 and 918 in 2011.
Shoplifting incidents are down 23% from their COVID-era peak in 2023, with 676 incidents reported in 2025 and arrests made in 72% of cases; 54% of the people arrested were not residents of Yonkers.
Grand larcenies of autos are down 34% from the 2023 peak, with 257 vehicles stolen in 2025, with more than 50 cases tied to vehicles left running or with keys inside.
“These historic reductions in crime are the result of hard work by the men and women of the Yonkers Police Department who put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect our residents,” Sapienza said. “Alongside our community-oriented programs, our commitment to data-driven policing allows us to deploy resources strategically to prevent crime before it occurs and quickly apprehend perpetrators when an offense does take place.”
Sapienza highlighted that in 2025 Yonkers had just 13 shootings in which someone was struck by a bullet.
“By comparison: Albany recorded 27 such incidents; Syracuse 49; Buffalo 97; and Rochester 142,” Sapienza said. “When adjusted for population, Yonkers also has the lowest rate of shooting incidents resulting in injury of any big municipality in New York.”
The city officials pointed out that Yonkers has advanced data-driven policing using real-time information, analytics, and technology to work toward prevent crime before it happens. By identifying patterns, trends, and emerging hotspots, the police department can deploy resources more strategically and respond faster to incidents.
“Our progress is not just about numbers,” Spano said. “Our police department runs more than 50 programs connecting officers with our residents, because you want to make sure that policing is not just about making sure you enforce the law. Policing is about making sure that you have community engagement so that the community trusts their officers and that translates to the officers feeling comfortable with the community and that relationship just continues to foster and to grow.”
