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Email updates Twitter Facebook RSS FeedsCops are examining why there has been an “uptick” in alleged rape cases in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.
So far this year, there have been nine rapes in the 88th Precinct, which encompasses Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. That’s a 125-percent increase over the same period last year, when there were four rapes.
“The 88th Precinct is an experiencing an uptick,” acknowledged Gene Whyte, a spokesman for the NYPD. “But it is part of the ongoing discussion at CompStat meetings, and people should realize crime is still down overall.”
Under the CompStat program, precincts maintain statistics on particular categories of crime so that commanders can figure out where to allocate scarce resources. The program also allows the brass at One Police Plaza to hold individual commanding officers accountable for increases in crime.
Whyte said the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
The precinct has actually seen a 59-percent decrease in rape cases since 1993.
But that statistic didn’t change the perception of at least one Fort Greene woman.
“To be perfectly honest, I don’t feel very safe walking around at night,” said Clara Presler, who lives near the intersection of Carlton and De- Kalb avenues. “My boyfriend got mugged right outside my apartment one night and … two teenagers harassed me, wouldn’t let me pass, and then threw an object at me when I got passed them.”
She said that as a result, she is often forced to take a cab rather than walk alone after dark.
The rape “uptick” was not the only alarming number on the precinct’s CompStat sheet this week. Felony assauts are also up nearly 26 percent, from 89 last year to 112 this year. Grand larceny and auto thefts are also up 10 percent and 6 percent respectively.
Robbery and burglaries, by comparison, are down. There have been 129 robberies compared to 174 last year, a decrease of nearly 26 percent. Burglaries are down nearly 5 percent.
There’s also been one fewer murder, five, in the statistical period that ended on Aug. 12.
©2007 Community Newspaper Group
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