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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Did New York City's police officers fire their guns a total of 52 times last year?

By Ellie Pepperell
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YES

According to New York Police Department reports, its nearly 36,000 officers fired guns a total of 52 times in 2019.

New York City crime hit a record low in 2019. Guns were used rarely, but on 8,543 occasions during the year officers resorted to other types of force, including electrical weapons, impact weapons, police dogs, pepper spray, restraining mesh blankets and physical force. The police department reported 95,000 incidents of criminal activity in 2019, involving 872 fewer crime victims compared to 2018.

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This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
City of New York: Police Department use of force data tables
City of New York: 2019 crime hits record low
City of New York: About NYPD
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.