By Jeff Lipton
The number of serious crimes reported from Jan. 1 to June 30, jumped 22.6 percent, from 115 to 141. Major crime is considered murder, rape, robbery, commercial burglary, residential burglary, felonious assault and auto theft.
The number of stolen cars leaped 55.5 percent, from 36 for the first six months of 2001 to 56 for the same period this year, according to mid-year statistics provided by police at the Fourth Precinct.
Fourth Precinct Capt. James O'Leary said the rise in auto thefts has police officials concerned, prompting the force to launch a program to combat auto crime. He added that police have identified the areas where cars are being stolen most often and have intensified patrols, stationing officers in these areas in an attempt to catch car thieves.
O'Leary said officers have also tried to cut off escape routes of the thieves, since several cars stolen from the Five Towns have been recovered in New York City. We are intensifying our patrols on these escape routes, O'Leary said. We have identified the problem and have devoted more resources to it to try to stave off the problem.
A check of police reports for the first six months of 2002 indicate that cars parked in commercial areas such as the Five Towns Shopping Center and the Bay Harbour Mall, both on Rockaway Turnpike, appear to be a favorite mark of auto thieves. But car thieves are not afraid to swipe cars from driveways alongside homes, during the day or night, anywhere in the Five Towns. They have also made off with all makes and models.
The year started off with a report of a gray 1987 Toyota Camry being stolen from in front of a home at Oxford Road and Westminster Road in Cedarhurst sometime between 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Jan. 8. Just hours later, a four-door maroon 1998 Mercury Mystique was reported stolen from the Five Towns Shopping Center, near Kmart, at 253-01 Rockaway Turnpike. A day earlier, a tan 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee was swiped from Franklin Avenue and East Broadway in Hewlett, a vehicle which was stolen between 8:30 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. on Jan. 7.
At the end of the six-month cycle, a 1972 Ford Maverick was taken from the LIRR parking lot on Lawrence Avenue and Central Avenue in Lawrence, sometime between 8 a.m. and 9:15 p.m. on June 18. And cars are not the only thing these auto bandits are grabbing. A 2002 Harley Davidson motorcycle was swiped from the municipal parking lot #2 in Cedarhurst also on June 18 at about 6 p.m.
Police officials said they have had to be creative in their approach to fighting crime, since manpower has stayed relatively the same.
We have not had an influx of personnel, especially since overtime has been restricted, O'Leary said. We have to make due with what we have, the Fourth Precinct captain said. That's why a stolen car initiative was instituted.
Burglaries balloon
The number of residential burglaries ballooned from 24 to 34, a 41.6 percent hike.
Residential burglaries are a big concern for us, O'Leary said. There has been no discernible pattern.
But police officials continue to study the numbers to determine if they can prevent further increases. The captain said the only thing police can do is increase patrols and continue to educate residents on how they can minimize becoming a victim. But he said free home surveys by police have been discontinued because of the lack of county money. He advises residents to cut shrubbery so that windows and entrances are not blocked from view and to not leave a spare key outside the property.
Robberies also showed an increase, from 25 to 28, a 12 percent leap.
I would assume in the wake of Sept. 11, if anything, the numbers would be flat or decreasing, O'Leary said.
Although the Five Towns has seen its share of gunpoint robberies, according to one veteran Fourth Squad detective, many of the robbery reports have involved pocketbooks being snatched, which is still labeled a robbery because property is taken by force. We've had many of those pocketbook snatch type robberies, the detective said.
The number of commercial burglaries dropped 9 percent, from 11 in the first six months of 2001 to 10 in 2002, while the number of felonious assaults also dipped, a whopping 41 percent, from 17 incidents to 10. And the number of assaults with a weapon dipped as well, 66.6 percent, from nine to three.
The number of rapes stayed the same at two. The lone murder thus far in 2002 was the shooting death of Dagoberto Ramos, a 19-year-old man who was gunned down in Inwood by an apparent street gang. Suspects have been charged in that murder.
In past few years, crime in the Five Towns hit record lows and the numbers were bound to level off or increase, officials said.
