Crime in New York City has plummeted over the last week

Here's one silver lining.

As New Yorkers heed warnings to stay inside, they're not committing nearly as many crimes, according to the NYPD's official stats.

Thankfully, compared to the same week last year (March 16-22), citywide crime is down by 17 percent (from 1,604 crimes to 1,337), with rape down 68 percent; murder was down 86 percent; shootings were down by 21 percent; and grand larceny was down by 31 percent, according to the NYPD's CompStat. Crime in the subway was down 33 percent, too.

Right now, we can breathe a sigh of brief relief that people are cooling it.

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"It is a combination of individuals heeding the advice to stay home and [distancing] themselves from other people,” NYPD Sgt. Joseph Imperatrice, founder of Blue Lives MattersNYC, told the New York Post.

Overall, the NYPD made 1,800 fewer arrests over the last seven days compared to the same period last year, the Post says.

However, the numbers may also be down because cops are getting sick. About 3,200 officers were out sick on Wednesday, according to Politico. In fact, so far, 177 uniformed officers, and another 34 civilian NYPD employees, have tested positive for the coronavirus.

And with all that being said, crime year-to-date is still up 17 percent.

Other crimes have actually seen an increase in the last week compared to the same week in 2019–robberies are up 2.4 percent and grand larceny of vehicles is up 51.5 percent.