Deputy Inspector Michael Cody discussing recent crime statistics in the 104 Precinct at last Thursday’s Juniper Park Civic Association meeting. Forum Newsgroup photo by Ryan Lavis.
At the Juniper Park Civic Association Meeting last Thursday night, Deputy Inspector Michael Cody released crime statistics for the 104 precinct over its last 28 day period. Over this time, his patrol area has seen a decrease in major crimes of about 22 percent.
“It went up a little during the summer, but we had a busy summer,” Cody said, whose patrol area includes Maspeth, Glendale, Middle Village and Ridgewood.
During the last 28 day period that ended on September 16, crimes such as grand larceny, robberies and auto thefts were all down. Robberies were down about twenty-six percent, with 19 occurring within the precinct compared to 26 last year. Grand larceny also showed a 22 percent decrease over the past 28 day period. Felony assaults decreased about five percent, with 20 taking place last year compared to 19 this year.
For the year, auto thefts dropped 14 percent, with 146 vehicles being stolen this year compared with 169 in 2011.
Although burglaries and robberies were down for the 28-day period, the Deputy Inspector said that both were up for the year. Burglaries increased by about 2 percent, and robberies rose about 15 percent, with 178 robberies reported last year compared to 154 in 2011. This increase in robberies is mostly attributed to the theft of electronic devices such as cell phones. These crimes mostly occur in the western end of precinct, according to Cody.
While grand larceny was down for the 28-day period, it rose slightly by about one percent for the year – 334 this year compared with 331 in 2011. Most instances of this crime involve cyber theft, credit card fraud and thefts involving property left unattended.
The Deputy Inspector also noted measures his precinct took over the summer months to address crime in his patrol areas. In the days leading up to the 4th of July, Cody assigned extra officers in locations throughout his command to deal with illegal fireworks. These measures resulted in several arrests and seizures of fireworks.
He also said that officers assigned to 4th of July duty arrested two people with loaded weapons, noting that they are now in jail.
And despite the increase in crime for the year to date, Cody said there has only been one shooting incident recorded in the command.
By Ryan Lavis
