Thanks to a prop car and borrowed laptop, the 63rd Precinct has hatched a plan to catch criminals in Marine Park.
Responding to a series of car break-ins, cops will leave a parked car loaded with expensive goodies on a local street in hope that it will attract would-be robbers.
“We’re going to leave a nondescript vehicle in your community as a decoy with a laptop and GPS. Hopefully, they’ll pick on us and leave you alone and we’ll catch them,” Lieutenant Robert Haley explained at a Marine Park Civic Association meeting, held at P.S. 222 on Quentin Road.
In the last 28 days, there’s been seven grand larcenies, six of which involved property taken from automobiles.
“We do have a little bit of an issue in the Marine Park area,” Haley acknowledged.
Marine Park Civic President Greg Borruso hopes the precinct’s plan will be successful.
“It’s nice to hear a proactive approach,” he said. “It’s nice that they’re going to hopefully do something to combat the problem that they have.”
“We’re on top of this,” Haley stressed. “We really do want to catch these people and we’re very successful in a lot of instances.”
He asked residents to do their part to prevent crime. Namely, lock your car doors and stop leaving valuables, including credit cards, in sight.
“The days of being able to leave your doors open and your property out in the open are over,” he noted.
Marine Park residents are encouraged to immediately call 911 to report suspicious activity.