Here it comes — so don’t say you haven’t been warned.
As The Post reported yesterday, crime is rising at an alarming pace across New York City. Indeed, except for murders, crime is up in every borough for the first time in nearly two decades.
And it’s almost certainly going to get worse.
Yes, New York arguably remains one of America’s safest major cities. But the trend lines are profoundly disturbing.
That’s because one of the factors being cited in the rise is directly related to the current political onslaught against the NYPD: a slowdown, under political pressure, of the successful stop-and-frisk tactic amid charges it unfairly targets minorities.
As one cop told The Post: “Eventually, when the word gets out that we’re not going to do any stop-and-frisks now, crime’s going to go up even more.”
Which is to say: Criminals read the newspapers, too.
Certainly, ending stop-and-frisk for good is the real goal of those leading the protests against it — despite their public denials.
And there’s no denying that the rise in crime suggests something more than just a temporary spike.
As The Post reported, major felonies are up 4.2 percent over last year: Rapes are up 2.1 percent, shootings are up 7.4 percent, shooting incidents — where no one is hit — are up 9.3 percent and misdemeanor sex crimes have risen nearly 20 percent.
Most significantly, the numbers are up in all eight of the city’s “patrol boroughs” — something that hasn’t happened since 1984.
True, there are other factors at work.
Among them are a reduction in the number of cops actually working on the street and a rise in grand larcenies as thieves look for iPhones, iPads and other pricy electronics.
And officials are now cracking down on cops who downgrade reported crimes, which has also driven up the numbers.
But there’s no denying the connection between rising crime and politically driven attempts to handcuff the NYPD instead of the criminals.
Maybe people have just forgotten the bad old days before 1993, when thugs owned the streets and people lived in fear. Finally, New Yorkers of all political persuasions demanded tough action.
Now the prevailing winds are blowing in the other direction — as elected officials and others pressure the cops to back off.
The mayoral wannabes, in particular, sound much more like David Dinkins than Rudy Giuliani.
Terrifying, but true.