Police have arrested a minor who may have been responsible for a string of burglaries in Victorian Flatbush.
On April 26, officers from the 70th Precinct apprehended a teenaged suspect for a burglary that occurred that day and quickly tied him to a second home break-in in the neighborhood that had occurred about a week earlier — two of five that occurred in the vicinity between April 18 and 26.
“There are similarities in all five burglaries,” said Deputy Inspector Ralph Monteforte, the precinct commander.
Monteforte added that police were still determining whether or not the teen was involved in the other three break-ins which occurred between Cortelyou Road and Albemarle Road, and Coney Island Avenue and the train tracks.
Since the arrest, there have been no burglaries in the vicinity.
According to Monteforte, all of the burglaries took place in the morning and early afternoon hours, which is when the teen was caught.
The spike in burglaries in the area runs counter to the trend in the precinct as a whole, which has seen a 28-percent decrease in burglaries, so far this year, Monteforte said. There have been 87 burglaries in 2010, compared to 121 at this point in 2009, making burglary the crime category with the “biggest decline,” Monteforte said.
The cops benefit from an informed community, he added.
“It helps us if they are looking out for the best interests of the neighborhood, as we are,” he said.
For this reason the precinct has been spreading the news about the cluster of burglaries in the areas, as well as urging residents to take advantage of the precinct’s free crime prevention survey, in which officers evaluate individual homes and make suggestions for improving security in them.
To schedule an appointment for a crime prevention survey, call PO Joe McGuinness, at (718) 851-5504.
