By Jeff Lipton
Overall, major crime fell 4 percent, from 155 reported incidents in the six months from Jan. 1-June 30, 2002, to 149 for the same six-month span this year, according to mid-year statistics released by Fourth Precinct police. Major crime includes murder, rape, robbery, residential and commercial burglary, felonious assault and stolen autos.
Police officials said they were worried about the escalating burglary rate. Statistics show residential burglaries rising 90 percent, from 20 to 38, and commercial burglaries increasing 110 percent, from 10 to 21.
Burglaries are up and it is a concern of ours, said Deputy Inspector Richard McGuire, commanding officer of the Fourth Precinct. We are taking measures to address it. I am hoping the arrest of certain burglary suspects recently will bring the trend down in the coming months.
McGuire said burglars usually commit more than one break-in, and when they're captured, the burglary rate often plummets. We feel the suspects we arrested are connected to these crimes, said McGuire, who did not give specific details on the arrests.
He urged residents to keep an eye on their neighbors' property when they are away on vacation, and to report any suspicious activity to authorities. In addition, residents should be responsible for bringing in vacationing neighbors' mail and newspapers.
McGuire explained that many residential burglaries are considered domestic burglaries, a situation in which a woman has an order of protection against her husband, keeping him away from the house. But husbands who want to see their children often violate such orders Ñ and take some property in the process, McGuire said.
McGuire attributes the 87.5 percent increase in felonious assaults, from 8 to 15, mainly to domestic disturbances such as disputes between husbands and wives or boyfriends and girlfriends.
The number of auto thefts plummeted 35 percent, from 92 to 60, due in large part to aggressive traffic stops on the Queens/Nassau border. Police said they have set up 2 a.m. checkpoints to target car thieves. McGuire said that in many cases, four suspects will travel from the city into the Five Towns, and leave with stolen cars.
Police checkpoints have been set up on Rockaway Turnpike and the western end of the precinct to cut off all areas of escape for car thieves, McGuire said. These suspects come to the Five Towns to shop for cars to steal, he said. If you are looking for high-end cars, where better to go than the Five Towns?
He said car owners could help themselves by not leaving their engines running when they are running errands and never leaving keys in a car.
Robberies also showed a steep decline, from 23 in the first six months of 2002 to 14 for the same span in 2003, a 39 percent drop. Robbery is a crime of opportunity, and police have been successful in reducing the number of those opportunities, McGuire said. Alert police patrols, field interviews and awareness of suspicious behavior have helped cut the number of robberies, he said. A number of robbery arrests made last year have also helped to reduce the numbers of hold-ups this year, he said.
McGuire also credited Five Towns Auxiliary Police Unit 109 for helping to curb crime. The auxiliary police do an excellent job, he said. They are our eyes and ears, and they help out tremendously.
The Five Towns auxiliary police force consists of 10 members who volunteer their time to patrol local neighborhoods. Captain Leo Goodman, commander of Unit 109, said his members are all too eager to help out. We are one of the newest units in Nassau County, Goodman said. The 109 more than tripled the minimum number of patrol hours required by members last year.
The auxiliary patrols have been especially helpful as personnel at the Fourth Precinct has dwindled from 184 to 160 officers in the past year due to budget cutbacks. Officers who have retired have not been replaced, McGuire said.
There is always room for improvement, he said of the overall 4 percent decrease in felonies in the Five Towns. Because of a reduction in our resources, we have had to be more efficient. We have had to do more with less personnel than last year.
Special patrols, both uniform and plainclothes, have been cut because of the reductions, he said.
