A string of burglaries on Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills and Rego Park have had police from the 112th Precinct looking for the perpetrator for months now.
During last Wednesday’s Community Board 6 meeting, Capt. Thomas Conforti, the precinct’s commanding officer, announced that there has been a persistent string of burglaries in the area.
“This burglar is going into these multiple dwelling (apartment buildings) along Queens Boulevard,” Conforti said.
Due to this one string of incidents, Conforti reported that burglaries are up a significant amount this year.
The 112th Precinct report states that burglary is up 141.7 percent since last year, with 29 burglaries in the area so far this year versus 12 burglaries by this time last year.
They do not have much information on the perpetrator besides the fact that these burglaries are happening in the area when a fire escape window is open.
“We don’t know what he looks like,” Conforti said. “It could be one person it could be multiple.”
“The unfortunate thing is he victimizes four or five or six apartments at the same time,” the captain continued. “He is going in through the back and through the fire escapes.”
The nature of the crime seems to be the same each time, with Conforti saying, “He has entered through an open fire escape window that wasn’t locked.”
He said he planned on apprehending the perpetrator as the police department has done in the past. He also said, there is increased surveillance in the area but that officers cannot be everywhere.
“He seems to react as we survey each area he hits,” Conforti said.
The commanding officer gave advice on how to protect yourself and others from being targeted by the burglar.
“Please keep your fire escape windows locked” and “If you see someone walking on a fire escape, give us a call,” he said.
By Kerry Goleski
