Cops from the 66th Precinct are attributing almost half of all the major law breaking committed inparts of Borough Park, Kensington and Midwood to one crime: burglary.
“We’re up about seven percent total for the year, and burglaries are about 40 percent of our crime right now in the 66th Precinct – which is heavy,” Deputy Inspector John Sprague, commander of the 66th Precinct, told neighbors on February 18.
According to the police, most of the break-ins have occurred west of 14th Avenue toward 8th Avenue.
The latest available CompStat figures for the week of February 1 to February 7 put the number of burglaries so far this year at 54. Last year at this time that figure stood at 32.
Sprague conceded that the precinct, located at 5822 16th Avenue in Borough Park, has entered the new year “a little bit rough” but assured residents assembled for last week’s community council meeting on 13th Avenue that cops are beginning to have success.
“We’re fighting it, and it looks like we really turned the tide,” Sprague said. “Last year, we averaged seven burglaries a week. This week we have one – and it’s Thursday. Last week we had three, and the week before we had five. So we’ve really turned it around.”
Prior to that, Sprague, who just recently transferred in from the 62nd Precinct, said that cops were responding to 10 to 14 burglaries a week.
The new commander attributed at least part of the turnaround to joint efforts with the neighboring 72nd Precinct located at 830 4th Avenue in Sunset Park.
“We always work in tandem together,” said Sprague. “The precinct commander is always talking to who we border. Burglars don’t realize what the precinct boundaries are. They cross the street, they go into another precinct. But we understand that. So we try to pursue them wherever they go.”
To further their efforts at combatting burglaries and other crimes within the 66th Precinct, cops are asking residents to become part of the stationhouse’s new e-mail alert system.
“What we’ll do, any significant event, any crime trends that are going on, we’re going to put out a quick, little e-mail to everybody so you know,” Sprague said. “It’s better communication.”
The 66th Precinct’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Residents interested in signing up for the new e-mail alert system should e-mail their name, address and e-mail address to the address above, drop by the station house, or write to the 66th Precinct at 5822 16th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11204.
