Crime Recap: Ongoing Crime Drop, Burglary Spike & More From 70th Precinct Council Meeting

The 70th Precinct continues to experience a drop in overall crime, but a jump in burglaries over the past month, according to Deputy Inspector James R. Palumbo.

For the month to date, overall reported crime has dropped 26 percent relative to the same period in 2015. An exception to that trend is burglary; where the precinct has seen an increase in different kinds of theft during October.

For example, criminals have broken into garages and stolen bicycles, nabbed cash from stores by entering through the back door, broken into people’s homes in the middle of the night via fire escapes, and robbed commercial trucks on Flatbush Avenue.

“The burglary increase is troubling,” said Deputy Inspector Palumbo.

Palumbo recommends installing motion detection lights and video surveillance technology on your property, which also helps the NYPD make arrests in pattern crimes.

Though overall robberies have dropped, there has been a surge in gunpoint robberies over the past two weeks — robberies similar to a September gunpoint robbery on Cortelyou Road. There were three incidents in the past ten days, said Palumbo, centered near East 18th Street between Dorchester and Cortelyou Roads.

Though burglary and robbery can both result in theft, they fall into different crime categories. A burglary occurs when a perpetrator illegally enters a structure with the intent to commit a crime. Robbery is characterized by taking something from a person directly and using force in the process.

“If you’re walking around late at night, don’t keep your head buried in your cell phone,” Palumbo cautioned. “Be aware of what’s going on behind you. Please wait until you get home to answer that text, make a phone call or check social media.”

Palumbo also cited some major crime patterns throughout the City as they relate to the 70th Precinct, like a spree of package thefts. While two perpetrators were caught stealing packages in our area earlier this month, reported thefts have continued. Domestic violence awareness continues to be a concern in the precinct, which is one of the record holders for most reported cases in NYC.

See Compstat 2.0 for an interactive map of crimes in our area.