By Jeff Lipton
Crime, which had dropped by about 50 percent from January through June of 2001 as compared with the same period in 2000, picked up the pace in the last six months. For the year, major crime dropped only 1.1 percent last year as compared with the previous year. The seven major crime categories consist of murders, rapes, robberies, commercial burglaries, residential burglaries, felony assaults and auto thefts.
Commercial burglaries dropped 43.5 percent, from 39 in 2000 to 22 in 2001, while residential burglaries shot up 36 percent, from 36 to 49, according to Fourth Precinct crime data. Robberies jumped 13 percent, from 23 to 26. Stolen auto reports decreased 2.9 percent, from 70 to 68 and felonious assaults edged up slightly from 13 to 14.
The number of rapes stayed the same at two each year and there were no murders for the second consecutive year.
But one of the most eye-opening statistics is that at the midway point in 2001, only 41 major incidents had been reported in the Five Towns and the Fourth Precinct was well on its way to setting record lows in crime. But by the end of the year, 181 incidents were reported. There were a total of 183 major crimes reported in the Five Towns in 2000.
During the last half of 2000, 106 crimes were reported as compared with 140 from July through December of 2001, a second-half increase of 32 percent. And factor into the equation that in the weeks following Sept. 11 crime had tailed off significantly in New York.
The upsurge in crime during the final six months of 2001 does not worry Insp. George Gudmundsen, commanding officer of the Fourth Precinct. He said the last half of the year usually shows a spike in crime because it takes in most of the summer and the holidays of Christmas and Chanukah, when criminals are more likely to prey on their victims.
That's the natural ebb and flow of crime during the year, Gudmundsen said. [More] crime always concerns us and we make a concerted effort to dampen it down. It's just the way in the second half of the year.
He pointed out that the number of robberies for the month of December, 2001, was down, which pleased him. More robberies usually occur during the month because victims are carrying more cash during the holiday season.
He said he was concerned that residential burglaries increased 36 percent for the year, but added that the number of arrests for residential break-ins also jumped, from seven in 2000 to 12 last year.
I'm looking at an increase in residential burglaries and any increase is troubling, Gudmundsen said. But we also had a nice percentage increase in the number of arrests.
He said increased patrols on the business strips in the Five Towns, as well as the better deployment of personnel, have caused commercial break-ins to plummet by 43.5 percent. He was still delighted that overall crime dipped from January through December 2001, compared with the same 12-month period in 2000.
Gudmundsen said last year was the first full year that anti-crime patrols were in place, setting up two teams of two officers apiece, working mostly undercover in covert operations. He said the aim is to catch criminals in action and he has no intention of abandoning a program that has been so successful. This is more designed to arrest perpetrators for crimes in progress.
We are always under pressure to be as economical as we can be with resources that we have and I'm committed to continuing these crime patrols indefinitely, the Fourth Precinct inspector said. This increased enforcement has led to the enhanced quality of life for all residents.
One of the most troubling trends during 2001 are the number of religious institutions and schools that were broken into in the Five Towns and throughout Nassau County. One suspect is believed to be responsible. Police arrested a suspect, Larry Ellis, 43, of Chicago, on Jan. 10 and charged him with three of the church break-ins in Nassau County, none local. He is a suspect in 14 others in the county, officials said.
St. Joseph's in Hewlett was broken into Dec.14, and St. Joachim R.C. Church, 620 Central Ave., Cedarhurst, and its school were each broken into during the last few months. The St. Joachim Church was broken into during the fall and less than $100 was taken. The school was burglarized on Dec. 28 when a rear window was smashed and several interior doors were damaged. About a couple of thousand dollars worth of damage was done in the Dec. 28 break-in, officials said.
In addition, the statues of Joseph and Mary were stolen from their display in Cedarhurst Park two days before Christmas and were found smashed in a nearby parking lot.
I saw that as a bias crime, said Father Paul Rahilly, spiritual leader of St. Joachim Church.
Rahilly said they were forced to increase security in both the church and school. With everything that has happened, it has given us more of a heightened awareness, Rahilly said, more of a consciousness of the problem.
It is just the sign of the times, he added. With everything that has happened to us, it is just discouraging.
Timothy Pastor, manager of Dino's Flower Shoppe, 295 Burnside Ave., North Lawrence, said he feels entirely secure in the Five Towns, even though his shop was broken into during the last week of December.
Yeah, I definitely feel it is secure, Pastor said. The cops are doing their jobs.
He said in many cases burglaries are due to the laziness and complacency of shopkeepers more than anything else. One day they forget to use their alarm system and they get hit, he said.
He said his family has owned the flower shop for 50 years and this was the first break-in. One burglary in 50 years is not bad, he said. It's more a reflection of the times, Pastor said.
