By Jeff Lipton
The number of robberies jumped 114 percent, from 14 to 30; residential burglary rose 58 percent, from 24 incidents to 38; and commercial burglary increased 55.5 percent, from nine to 14. The report compares major crime committed in the Five Towns from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2004, with the same six-month period in 2005 in the categories of murder, rape, robbery, residential burglary, commercial burglary, felonious assault and auto theft.
Decreases were seen in auto theft, which dropped 22 percent, from 27 to 21, and felonious assault, which also fell 22 percent, from nine to seven.
Although robbery and burglary numbers were up for the first six months of the year, Fourth Precinct police officials said they have gained control of the situation by making arrests of suspects involved in two separate burglary patterns in the community.
Residents of the Five Towns have been terrified by four home-invasion robberies committed since last December - two in North Woodmere and one each in Cedarhurst and Lawrence - in which armed robbers broke into homes in the early-morning hours and often confronted victims as they slept. The home invasions sparked the creation of a neighborhood watch and patrol in North Woodmere, which was led by resident Scott Goldberg.
A home invasion in Lawrence on May 4 spurred neighborhood leaders to call a meeting with Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi and county Police Commissioner James Lawrence, who suggested that the community set up a five-member task force to come up with anti-crime solutions. One solution, developed by Trustee Martin Oliner, involved the possible installation of 18 security cameras at the entrances to and exits from the village to keep track of who is coming and going while crimes are being committed. The village is exploring the legal avenues of such a move.
"We haven't had one [home invasion] in quite some time," said Inspector Richard McGuire, former commanding officer of the Fourth Precinct, who was recently transferred to the Sixth Precinct in Manhasset after almost three years at the Fourth. "That's because we intensified and increased our patrols in areas around [the Five Towns], which acted as a deterrent effect."
He added that in many of the robberies, the victims knew the suspects, and that the crimes included youths forcibly stealing bikes from other youths.
McGuire said that the Fourth Precinct had experienced such a decline in crime over the past three years that it was bound to have an upturn. "Coming into this year, we were going up against numbers that were very low," McGuire said. "Ideally, we would like to eliminate crime totally, but it's not going to happen."
He said that police patrols were intensified in Lawrence and Woodmere, which put a stop to burglary patterns in those communities and resulted in arrests.
One resident of Woodmere Park said her neighborhood has been hit by four break-ins since the winter, including one on Green Place on Tuesday, June 28, at 9:15 p.m., when a woman returned to her home and found a burglar inside. She ran out of the house and called 911, forcing the burglar to flee, police said. "Four burglaries in a community with 160 to 170 homes is significant," said the Woodmere Park resident, who has lived in the community for about 50 years but declined to be identified.
She said she rarely sees a patrol car in the neighborhood, and is frightened by the number of burglaries that have occurred recently. "Woodmere Park needs more protection," she said.
Simon Felder, Lawrence's deputy mayor and police commissioner, said the precinct is relatively safer than it was six months ago. "The criminal activity is quieter now, and I hope it stays that way," Felder said.
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
