With Labor Day approaching and another summer setting on Coney Island, crime in the area is inching back up, according to the latest 60th Precinct statistics.
Thus far in 2008, crime in the major felony categories including murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and auto theft is up slightly more than 6 percent as compared to this time last year.
Felony assaults have spiked some 17.4 percent for the year with 182 incidents reported as compared to 155 at this time in 2007.
Reported robbery is up a little more than 10 percent with 201 incidents thus far in 2008 as compared to 182 at this time last year.
Grand larceny is up slightly with 380 incidents reported thus far this year as compared to 355 at this time last year.
Conversely, auto theft has fallen some 17 percent with 65 reported incidents in 2008 as compared to 78 at this time in 2007.
There have been eight reported rapes so far in 2008 as compared to five at this time last year; and three murders so far in 2008 as compared to three at this time last year.
The dog days of summer in Coney Island also saw an increase in crime compared to last year.
In the 28-day period between July 17 and August 17 there was a nine percent increase in crime compared to the same 28-day period in 2007.
Auto theft is up 75 percent during this period with 14 reported incidents compared to eight at during this same period in 2007.
Robberies are up nearly 58 percent with 30 incidents reported in this 28-day period in 2008 as compared to 19 during this same period last year.
Burglaries, however, are down nearly 61 percent with 13 incidents reported between July 17 and Aug. 17, 2008 as compared to 33 during this same period in 2007.
While crime is up in the area, it is still much safer than it was just 10 years ago, when, for example, there were 16 murders in the Coney Island area in 1998 as compared to four last year.
