New York City experienced another year of reduced crime, including fewer than 300 murders for the second year in a row. It was an achievement touted by Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill as once thought unthinkable in a city with more than 8 million people.

"When you go back to 1990," said de Blasio, "which very sadly was the high-watermark time of when crime was at its worst, murders are down 87 percent since 1990 when you now look at the 2018 numbers. It’s unbelievable."

The mayor spoke alongside NYPD officials on Thursday at the 67th precinct in East Flatbush, which also experienced a record low number of murders. And while crime dropped to historic lows in other crime categories, including robberies, rape was a glaring outlier defying the downward trend.

Rape reports increased citywide by 22 percent in 2018, compared to the year before. Rape cases increased in every borough.

The mayor and top police officials attributed the increase in rape cases to a cultural shift in reporting sexual assault: historic underreporting was finally being addressed, they said.  

"We have an increase of 329 walk-in reports this year," said Lori Pollock, chief of crime control strategies for the NYPD, speaking of the 2018 numbers. "To me, that’s a trust issue. That means we’re building trust that people will walk into a precinct and speak to, maybe, the cop on the phone, maybe the desk office, and explain to them what happened to them."

Pollock said 27 percent of rapes reported in 2018 occurred in a previous year.

But what is unclear is how equipped the NYPD is to handle an increase in rape cases.

Sonia Ossorio, president of the National Organization for Women of New York, agreed that making reporting easier for victims of rape and sexual assault is a crucial step in addressing sex crimes. But it’s only one.

"What we have not seen is enough change, enough priority put into the sex crimes division at the NYPD," said Ossorio.

She referenced a report by the city’s Department of Investigation, in March of last year, which found that the NYPD’s special victims division was severely understaffed and lacked enough experienced detectives.

"It’s really incumbent on police departments across the country to take this moment — it’s an opportunity and an obligation to be able to handle the reports that are coming in," said Ossorio.

Along with rape, domestic violence murders also saw an uptick in 2018. Citywide, there were 49 domestic violence deaths last year compared to 45 the year before.

In the Bronx alone, domestic violence murders nearly doubled: there were 20 domestic violence murders in the borough last year, compared to 11 in 2017. The Bronx was the only borough to experience an increase in homicides last year.