Veronika Belenkaya - The New York Daily News

BROOKLYN, NY — There may be fewer homicides in Brooklyn's high-crime neighborhoods, but the number of people getting shot and robbed there is on the rise.

Home burglaries, car break-ins and muggings also have increased in central and north Brooklyn - even as the same crime rates have decreased citywide, NYPD statistics show.

645 Rookie Cops to Hit High-Crime Streets

Veronika Belenkaya – The New York Daily News

BROOKLYN, NY — There may be fewer homicides in Brooklyn’s high-crime neighborhoods, but the number of people getting shot and robbed there is on the rise.

Home burglaries, car break-ins and muggings also have increased in central and north Brooklyn – even as the same crime rates have decreased citywide, NYPD statistics show.

In response to community pleas and the stubborn crime spike, starting tomorrow, the NYPD will deploy 645 rookie cops to six Brooklyn precincts, where they will work for the next six months.

“If there are more police on the streets, it gives residents a sense of security and it’s a way to prevent crime,” said Councilwoman Letitia James (WFP-Crown Heights), whose district includes the 77th Precinct – where burglary is up by 15% this year over last year and robberies are up by nearly 7%.

One of the neighborhoods saw an even more deadly trend: Even as the city’s murder rate hit a 45-year low, deadly assaults in the 73rd Precinct in Brownsville increased by 27.2%.

Gunshots also wounded 119 people there, up from 92 last year. It was the same grim story in Flatbush, where the number of shooting victims increased by more than 28%.

In Bedford-Stuyvesant, where the number of shooting victims rose from 71 to 91, it also be risky business to own a car: Auto theft shot up 16%, and the number of burglaries rose from 511 to 537.

“I just had a baby three months ago, and I can’t take him into the park. I can’t even get to the train station once the sun starts going down,” said Sharissa Moore, 26, sitting on a Tompkins Ave. stoop.

“I guess that’s why they call this Bed-Stuy, do or die,” she shrugged.

Although the increase in cops was welcomed by Nina Meledandri, 50, who started a Crown Heights Coalition letter-writing campaign asking for more officers, she wondered whether six months was enough time to turn the crime trend around.

“I’m hope it’s not a temporary Band-Aid; we need long-term attention,” she said.

Six months may not be long enough to change things in the city’s most violent precinct, with 31 murders: the 75th in East New York.

Although theft has decreased, the number of shootings increased by 9% and the number of robberies was still high – 813 this year.

“We don’t need more cops, we need more jobs, recreational centers and parks,” said City Councilman Charles Barron (D-East New York). “You’ll have a bunch of rookies out in East New York, most of them white, scared to death and standing on our streetcorners with no knowledge of our communities.”

Brooklyn anti-violence coalition founder Taharka Robinson didn’t oppose the influx of officers but agreed cops need to have a better grasp of the neighborhoods they police.

“I just want to make sure that the police officers that are being deployed to these communities are able to interact with these resident and identify their needs, not just to stand there,” he said.

9 Comments

  • Practice what u preach

    City Councilman Charles Barron (D-East New York). “You’ll have a bunch of rookies out in East New York, most of them white, scared to death and standing on our streetcorners with no knowledge of our communities.”
    I’d like to see him sitting on a street corner in the 75 all by himself I’ll sponsor the vest myself.

    Talk about racist you see cops of all colors scared to death in that area

  • welcome the rookies

    I hope the Jewish community of Crown Heights will welcome these new cops properly. Since they might not yet have the long-standing anti-semitism some of the other cops in our precinct have, perhaps we can get them on our side from the start. Let’s show them the beautiful side of the Crown Heights Jewish community.

  • 7-7-7

    Tell that scum Barron that we’ll welcome all the officers to serve and protect in Crown Heights

  • mooo

    pracitice what u preach: you took the words right out of my mouth. reverse discrimination. if someone were to say “most of them black” he would never hear the end of it…

  • Sam

    it was GREAT to see a police officer patrolling in front of 770E.P./kingston ave this morning/afternoon.
    thank you I.Vaga.i hope its not for one day only.

  • Rookies

    Rookies alone? Why not with an experienced partner so no one gets shot for pulling out a lighter which will cause a riot! How about actualy booking the perps and recordng the assaults and roberies instead of worring about statisticks?! Also, People with a long records should be put away for a long time, not out in 3 monthes after 18 times of auto brakeins.

  • boruch ben tzvi(A H)hakohaine hoffinger

    B”H
    What if the majority of those caught are ages below adult?
    They’ll be out on the streets again. This time they’ll hate cops even more and make them a special target.
    The criminals outgun the police.
    Great formula: weak laws=more crime.
    (More crime from revenge.)
    Taxes Up? Sounds like Eretz Yisroel?
    Vicious cycle.

  • Sam

    First of all, they need to patrol by NIGHT mainly and not only by day because that is when most of the crimes happan. They are not here just to pull over more Yidden on Kingston!!!!!!!!

    Secondly, they need to patrol the outer streets where they crimes happan and not just Kingston and Eastern Parkway.
    Brookly, NY Ave, East New York Lefforts (the park!) Utica Schnecdaty Troy!!!!!!!

  • Pentax

    They will not be just rookies alone together for the probation time they
    have a FTO with them.