As January drew to a close, felony crime in neighborhoods protected by the 63rd Precinct was down by nearly seven percent.
Inspector Frank Cangiarella, the commanding officer of the 63rd Precinct, want residents to help cops ensure that it stays that way.
Addressing members of the 63rd Precinct Community Council last week, Cangiarella and Executive Officer Captain Patricia MacDonald said that some common sense strategies could help prevent scenes like the one that recently unfolded outside of St. Bernard Elementary School, 2030 East 69th Street, recently, where a handful of mothers had bags stolen from their cars as they picked up their kids.
MacDonald said that these crimes could have been prevented if they had made sure that they had taken their valuables with them — including the portable GPS devices, which has quickly risen to the top of any thief’s “must take” list.
“Don’t leave your GPS in your car,” MacDonald warned, categorizing these thefts under the catch-all “unattended property” crimes. “These are all crimes of opportunity that could be prevented.”
While cops combat unattended property crimes, they are also trying to combat a slight spike in burglaries.
“We’re a little bit up in burglaries,” MacDonald said, adding that “personal crimes” such as burglaries and robberies have always been the precinct’s number one priority.
According to recently released NYPD CompStat numbers, burglaries rose during the month of January, from 18 in January, 2009 to 21 last month. Robberies also rose, by 26 percent (21 in January, 2009 vs. 25 last month).
MacDonald said that, for the most part, patrol officers made arrests on these crimes.
Just recently, in fact, police arrested a Mill Island man for two attempted burglaries he committed on his own block.
The National Drive resident reportedly tried to break into the back door of a home a few addresses away from his home on January 28, MacDonald said. The next day, the 22-year-old was busted when he tried to break into the back of a second home on the same block. This one was even closer to his home, police said.
Out of all the crimes tracked by NYPD CompStat, the biggest reduction seen in the 63rd Precinct was in felony assaults, which saw a 50 percent plunge, from 12 in January, 2009 to six last month.
The 63rd Precinct protects residents in Mill Basin, Marine Park, Mill Island, Bergen Beach, Georgetowne and Flatlands.
