NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio claims city is 'much safer' now than when he took office despite more murders

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio claimed Sunday that the city is "much safer" now than it was when he took the reins eight years ago, despite a recent surge in murders. 

"Eight years I’ve been mayor, index crimes, major crimes in New York City down 11% over eight years. And we did it bringing police and community closer together," de Blasio said on "Fox News Sunday." 

"The bottom line is that there is today in New York City, a much safer city than we were eight years ago."

While major crimes are down overall, murders skyrocketed last year and have remained high so far in 2021.

There were 318 murders in 2013, but that number shot up to 437 last year and there have been 443 murders so far in 2021, according to NYPD data

New York City's surge in homicides mirrors a nationwide trend, as several big cities across America have set records for murders this year.