While crime throughout the 94th Precinct remains higher than it was at this point in 2007, it has declined significantly over the past month, giving cops hope that it will eventually slide down to 2007 levels.
For the year, crime is up nearly 8 percent. There have been 284 “major index” crimes this year – those taken into account when calculating a city’s crime rate – compared to 264 in 2007.
But there have only been 39 such crimes over the past 28 days compared to 64 during the corresponding period last year, good for a 39 percent reduction.
The downturn has been driven largely by a drop-off in burglaries. Last year, there were 21 burglaries during this 28-day period; this year, there have been 7.
For the year, burglaries are down 13 percent from last year’s levels. Robberies are also down 23 percent.
There has been 1 murder in the precinct this year compared to 0 at this time last year, and 1 rape compared to 2 last year.
Yet crime overall is up, a fact attributable to two causes:
A huge jump in felonious assaults, which are up 68 percent, from 22 last year to 37 this year;
And an increase of grand larcenies, up 25 percent, from 83 last year to 104 this year.
At the precinct’s Community Council meeting this past Monday, Captain Dennis Fulton said he expects the felonious assaults to subside as the year goes on. He characterized the spike as a product of an early-year, statistically small sample that should not be taken as cause for alarm.
“It’s a long year. We’re going to have some spikes here and there,” he said.
Fulton was more worried about the grand larcenies. He said the rise was indicative of a troubling trend of people not paying close enough attention to their belongings.
“The main concern I have is with unattended property,” he said, adding that there had been many theft victims who have had unattended property stolen in bars and parks, and also from their vehicles.
“Don’t leave stuff showing. It becomes a crime of opportunity,” he advised.
Fulton added that stolen property in bars has gone down since the arrest of a man suspected of being the area’s most prolific bar thief.
Despite the increase in crime this year, the 94th Precinct still ranks as one of the safest in the city.
