crimepic.jpg

Following a citywide trend, arrests recorded by police officers on Staten Island declined in 2015, as major crimes across the borough dropped slightly for the year, according to NYPD data. (Staten Island Advance/Ryan Lavis)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Following a citywide trend, major crimes on Staten Island declined slightly this year, while arrests recorded by cops fell 16.6 percent across the borough's four police precincts, according to NYPD data.

At the same time, victims of gun violence increased on the Island, to 47 through Dec. 20, up from 42 over the same time period the year before, the data show. Shootings also rose, from 37 to 42.

Arrests made on Staten Island fell in each police precinct this year, to 11,025, down 16 percent from 13,220.

Murder also dropped on the Island, bucking citywide trends.

As of Dec. 30, the borough has seen 13 slayings in 2015 -- 11 of them shootings -- compared to 16 in all of 2014.

The decrease comes in a year when the city has seen a 5.3 percent increase in murder -- 339 as of Dec. 20, compared to 322 in that same timeframe in 2014.

Citywide, the NYPD is reporting a 2 percent decline in major felonies, and a 13 percent drop in arrests.

On Staten Island, the NYPD is reporting a small decrease in the seven major crime categories tracked by the NYPD -- murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and car theft.

Major crimes on the Island fell less than 1 percent, to 3,135 through Dec. 20, down from 3,154 over the same time period the year before, according to the data.