NEWBURGH – The number of murders, commercial burglaries, larcenies, property crimes, and gun related violent crimes were up in 2020 in the City of Newburgh, according to statistics released by the police department.
Rapes, robberies, residential burglaries and violent crimes were down.
Gun related calls for service increased by 36 percent, in large part due to the Shop Spotter program capturing the incidents in real time and alerting the cops.
Police Chief Butch Amthor said they are redoubling their efforts to put a lid on gun violence, usually committed with weapons brought into Newburgh from other states.
“These are guns that are being purchased out of state, they are being trafficked in the area, they are being sold on our streets and they are finding themselves in the hands of young men, who routinely discharge these firearms on the streets and the entire communities in the entire city are scared to death, and rightfully so,” he said. “I hear it all the time from our residents. I have meetings with communities and I really feel for these people. They are hearing gunshots every night, if not every other night, and they are scared.”
Amthor said statistics show that 77 percent of gun violence offenders in Newburgh ae African American males in the early- to mid-20s.
| CRIME | 2019 | 2020 | CHANGE |
| Murder | 3 | 4 | 33% |
| Rape | 18 | 17 | -6% |
| Robbery | 82 | 59 | -28% |
| Aggravated assault | 213 | 205 | -4% |
| Residential burglary | 115 | 103 | -10% |
| Commercial burglary | 22 | 48 | 118% |
| Larceny | 484 | 507 | 5% |
| Motor vehicle theft | 19 | 59 | 211% |
| Violent crime | 316 | 285 | -10% |
| Property crime | 640 | 717 | 12% |
| Gun related violent crime | 56 | 65 | 16% |
(Source: Newburgh City Police Department)
