Police offer crime prevention tips

Nassau County Police officers told a handful of residents that they can be a major crime deterrent at a community policing forum on July 8 at the Wantagh Public Library.

Hosted by Nassau County Legislator Steve Rhoads, representatives from the 1st and 7th precincts were on hand to tell residents how they can avoid becoming crime victims. Rhoads said the purpose of the meeting was to foster communication between the community and police, and give residents a chance to bring up concerns to police leaders.

Sgt. Rich Hermann, of the 1st Precinct, said some recent crimes in the area have included car break-ins and home burglaries. He said that typically criminals are entering cars that are left unlocked and where property is visible.

“You just make it easy on the bad guys,” he said. “If your doors are locked, they’re moving on.”

With the warmer weather, people are leaving their windows open on their homes, Hermann said, which is an invitation to burglars. He urged residents to close and lock first-floor windows when they are not home, and at night. Also during the night, he said residents should lock their doors, set the alarm and leave an outside light on.

Sgt. Nick Passarella, of the 7th Precinct, said there have been a handful of burglaries in the area within in the past few weeks. He also said criminal mischief cases are up, which tends to happen in the summer when schools are out. These incidents include graffiti and broken car windows.

The theft of tires and rims from vehicles is on the rise. He said it happens a lot at car dealerships, but cases have also been reported in neighborhoods.

Both officers touched on the heroin epidemic. Hermann said that police regularly respond to calls in which someone overdoses. Often, he said, officers are able to successfully apply Narcan, a heroin overdose antidote.

“It used to be a drug that nobody touched,” Hermann said of heroin, “but it’s become mainstream.”

Hermann said that when officers aid a person, they try to find out who supplied the heroin because those are the people the police want to go after. Passarella noted a gang bust last week in the Hempstead and Uniondale area, resulting in 10 arrests, and said he hoped that would help curtail the supply of heroin.

Rhoads said that the county will be planning Narcan seminars, so ordinary citizens can become trained to administer the life-saving antidote. A program for parents on recognizing the signs of heroin use is also in the works.

The officers noted that pain killers are often a gateway drug to heroin. Each Nassau County police precinct accepts unused pain killers for disposal.

Some concerns expressed by residents included violent crime, skimming devices on ATMs, the illegal use of fireworks, and the improper use of turn lanes on Jerusalem Avenue approaching Wantagh Avenue. Passarella said that when anyone calls the precinct with a traffic concern, the police will look into it.

The 7th Precinct covers Seaford and most of Wantagh, while the 1st Precinct includes Wantagh north of Sunrise Highway and west of the Wantagh Parkway.

Rhoads urged residents to call police whenever they see something suspicious, but should avoid taking matters into their own hands. “We’ve got to be part of the solution as well,” he said. “We’re the best guardians of our own neighborhoods.”