Greenfield Thanks Cops For Crackdown On Car Break-Ins

The following is a press release from the offices of Councilman David Greenfield:

Councilman David G. Greenfield is thanking the NYPD’s 66th Precinct and neighborhood Shomrim volunteers for their efforts to stem the rise in the number of vehicles broken into around Borough Park in recent weeks, especially during Shabbos, and is warning residents to be aware of this ongoing pattern. Over the past two weeks, a total of 18 vehicles were broken into throughout the 66th Precinct, with incidents spread out across Borough Park and the surrounding neighborhoods. Meanwhile, officers in the 66th Precinct and the four adjacent precincts have made a total of 12 arrests of individuals caught breaking into vehicles over the past month.

After hearing from concerned residents over the past few weeks, Councilman Greenfield reached out directly to Deputy Inspector Michael Deddo, commanding officer of the 66th Precinct, to discuss increasing patrols around the neighborhood and other steps to discourage criminals from taking advantage of residents, especially during Shabbos. These incidents have occurred in nearly all sections of Borough Park, and while areas like 50th Street to 60th Street between 14th Avenue and 18th Avenue have been hit particularly hard, the NYPD warns that no block is immune from this problem.

“Even though we live in a safe neighborhood, it is important to always keep our guard up and take simple measures so that we don’t make it easy for criminals to target us. I am pleased to hear that the NYPD’s focus on this issue has resulted in several arrests, which hopefully will prevent more residents from finding their valuables missing and their windows smashed. My thanks to Deputy Inspector Deddo, the officers at the 66th Precinct and Shomrim volunteers for working hard on this problem,” said Councilman Greenfield.

Individuals have been captured on surveillance footage in several cases simply walking down a block and trying each vehicle door handle until finding one that was left unlocked. As a result, it is imperative that drivers always lock their vehicles, no matter where they are parked or for how long. In addition, Deputy Inspector Deddo is urging residents to remove all items such as electronics from view, and to not leave any bags or containers visible, even if they do not actually contain anything valuable. When possible, park in well-lit, high traffic areas, and always report any suspicious individuals to the precinct or 911.

“This is one of those crimes that takes a lot of time and effort to make arrests, but we have been getting a lot of help from the community on this. The strength of the 66th Precinct is that we have a lot of eyes watching out and a lot of people who care, which makes it a neighborhood that the bad guys don’t come into. We don’t want to see the quality of life impacted for residents, so this is a huge focus for us,” said Deputy Inspector Deddo.

Councilman Greenfield and Deputy Inspector Deddo credited Shomrim members with being instrumental in alerting the precinct of suspicious activity and apprehending several suspects. Inspector Deddo also noted that the large number of security cameras throughout the neighborhood also greatly assists police in making arrests and deters criminal activity.

Residents should always call 911 if they are the victim of a crime or witness a crime in progress. They can also contact the 66th Precinct at (718) 851-5611 and Councilman Greenfield at (718) 853-2704.