Coney Island ‘Safest It’s Been In Years’

Coney Island's safer due to an increase police presence, but what about Brighton? (by Eddie~S via flickr)

According to an article published in the Home Reporter, crime is going down in Coney Island.

At a Bensonhurst West End Community Council meeting held earlier in  the month, Captain John Chell, the 60th Precinct’s executive officer,  stated that year-to-date crime is down 16% when compared with last year.

From the Home Reporter:

“We had an extremely busy Memorial Day weekend –  over 100,000 people came to Coney Island – and there was not one violent  crime the whole weekend,” Chell said, noting that during Memorial Day  weekend 2010, there was one shooting and four to five people stabbed.   He chalked up the improvement to a collaborative effort between city  workers.

One of the big improvements cited was an increase in police presence.

“For every eight cops on the street, there is one  sergeant. That means there were almost 64 cops on duty this weekend and  we plan to keep it that way the whole summer. It’s all about having a  minor omnipresence.”

I just hope those extra police came from Manhattan, because if they were taken off the Brighton Beach beat, it may not have been such a great idea.

Home Reporter: Coney Island summer season off to a great start, say cops