NEXT THEY'LL TRY TELLING ME I'M NOT GOING TO BE KILLED IN A SHARK ATTACK...:

As reflected in the reported levels of the most serious types of crime, the city in 2015 was as safe as it had been in its modern history. A modest decrease in reported crime is expected by year's end.

The Police Department is reporting a 2 percent decline, as measured by seven major felonies that are tracked by the Federal Bureau of Investigation: murder, rape, robbery, serious assault, burglary, grand larceny and car theft. At the same time, arrests recorded by officers fell steeply, to 333,115 through Dec. 20, down 13 percent from 384,770 over the same period the year before. The number of criminal summonses dropped to 292,372 from 358,948.

There was a small rise in murders, to 339 as of Dec. 25, already more than last year's historic low of 333. Still, the number is well below the 536 murders recorded five years ago.

A makeshift memorial for Officer Randolph Holder outside a station house. Officer Holder was fatally shot in October. Credit Michael Appleton for The New York Times

And despite an early increase in gun violence, the final tally of shootings for the year is set to come in slightly lower than last year's figure.

"As we end this year, the City of New York will record the safest year in its history, its modern history, as it relates to crime," said Commissioner William J. Bratton, summing up 2015 in an address to officers at a Dec. 17 promotion ceremony. 

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