Ted Cruz’s campaign was wrong last week in saying that New York City murders were up 10 percent. But it wasn’t the first time, and surely won’t be the last, that crime statistics for the city and elsewhere are misunderstood and misrepresented.

In the first few months of 2015, murders did increase, and the city’s tabloids wouldn’t let anybody forget it.

■ The Daily News: “The murder rate in New York City has spiked an alarming 20 percent in the first two months of the year.”

■ The New York Post: “You’re 45 percent more likely to be murdered in de Blasio’s Manhattan.”

■ In September, USA Today wrote: “A bloody weekend in New York that saw eight shooting deaths could signal that out-of-control gun violence may return to the city. If the trend continues, New York City may see its first uptick in the homicide rate after 25 years of decline.”