New York City Police Department (NYPD) arrest activity has declined since 2019 and it doesn’t appear to be simply the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the majority of serious crime types have increased, according to NYPD data. NYPD arrests have been steadily dropping since 2014 and, for some time, crime was declining in tandem. The numbers particularly cratered with the onset of the pandemic last year, reaching a low of less than 7,500 in July 2020. Arrests have since rebounded, but not to the prior level. Instead, they seem to keep following the previous downward trend. Less than 75,000 have been arrested in the first half of this year, compared to more than 110,000 in the first half of 2019, the data shows. Meanwhile, four out of the seven categories of serious crime tracked by the NYPD saw increases compared to 2019. Shootings in particular went …