6 OCTOBER 15, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Meet the 104th Precinct’s new captain
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Captain Louron Hall, the NYPD’s
104th Precinct new commanding
officer, spoke with QNS
about his plans for the precinct,
crime increase and the tensions
between some community members
and police officers.
Hall has been a member of the
police force since 2002, serving on
Manhattan’s 32nd Precinct, Brooklyn’s
73rd and 77th Precincts, and
Queens’ 107th and 100th precincts in
various capacities — from narcotics
investigator to sergeant and, eventually,
captain.
Before he arrived at the 104th,
which encompasses western Queens’
neighborhoods Ridgewood, Glendale,
Middle Village and Maspeth,
Hall served as the commanding officer
of the Rockaway’s 100th Precinct
for two years.
He will now take over from Deputy
Inspector Victoria C. Perry, who
will be working at the Community
Affairs office with Chief Jeffrey
Maddrey.
Hall said Perry has been a big help
during his transition process.
“Her leadership has been phenomenal.
I can see why she’s beloved in
the community,” Hall said. “I hope to
continue in that same vein, building
relationships between police and
community.”
But, as Hall noted, the 104th Precinct
has faced some challenges, as
it seen a steady increase in crime in
the last 18 months. Hall said they’ve
seen an increase in property and
commercial burglaries as well as
grand larceny auto in 2020, so far.
The 104th Precinct has seen a
76 percent increase in burglaries
(from 135 in 2019 to 238 in 2020);
241 percent increase in commercial
burglaries (from 29 in 2019 to 99 in
2020); and a 10 percent increase in
grand larceny auto (from 118 in 2019
to 130 in 2020).
Hall said the commercial burglaries
have mainly taken place on the
commercial corridors on Fresh Pond
Road and Myrtle Avenue, primarily
between 3 and 5 a.m.
“In addition to changing our deployment
to combat this, we need assistance
from the public,” said Hall,
adding that officers are working
later hours to combat commercial
burglaries.
Hall said that when it comes to the
increase of grand larceny auto — a
mixture of which includes cars as
well as scooters and motorcycles
— they’ve noted that owners often
times leave vehicles unlocked with
valuables left inside.
The COVID-19 pandemic may be
a factor for the increase in crime at
the 104th, according to Hall, as well
Captain Louron Hall Photo courtesy of NYPD
as New York City’s contentious bail
reform laws.
“With COVID and unemployment,
people are in dire straits,” he said.
“In times past, these types of crimes
are committed by individuals who
have rap sheets, and they would be
held to try to minimize the recurrence,
but this is considered nonviolent
now.”
Hall said they’re focused on
taking aggressive steps for crime
prevention.
“We need the public to take heed
of these types of crimes and help us
help them,” said Hall.
He said their social media presence
— the precinct’s Twitter page
has more than 9,000 followers and
almost 3,000 followers on its Facebook
page — helps them share messages
to inform the public on what
they can do to combat crime.
“Our community affairs officers
and auxiliary officers go out and
educate the community,” said Hall.
“With scooters and motorcycles, we
put flyers to let them know about
crime patterns, so they do a better
job of securing them.”
Hall said that it’s “refreshing” to
be in a pro-police community, similar
to the 100th Precinct.
Even so, neighborhoods within the
104th Precinct saw demonstrations
calling for the NYPD to be defunded,
and are still seeing protests over
police brutality and police unions.
When asked about the tensions
some community members feel toward
police offi cers — sparked by the
national unrest that resulted of police
offi cers killing Minneapolis’ George
Floyd and Louisville’s Breonna Taylor
— Hall said he’s learned to understand
why some people feel uneasy.
“Every community has their
feelings about police, their own
interactions with police, whether
it’s personal or based off a friend
or family member’s interactions
with the NYPD,” he said. “That’s
their experience, and you have to
respect it.”
Hall said the uniform is “symbolic,”
and he tries to convey this message
to his police officers, who he said
are often younger individuals.
“One thing I’ve learned, especially
being in executive positions, is that
you have to empathize with people
and understand what they may be
going through, even if it isn’t what
I’ve experienced,” Hall said. “A lot
of officers at the 104th, and other
precincts, are very young and they
need to understand that the sentiments
some feel doesn’t necessarily
mean it’s against them, personally.
We need to try to forge good relationships
so the next interaction is
the best.”
He added that the pro-police rallies
– several of which took place
in the 104th’s jurisdiction during
the summer — help them feel
appreciated.
“There’s two sentiments out there,
we just have to stay positive,” Captain
Hall said. “Everything will
work itself out.”
Captain Hall reiterated one of the
NYPD’s main messages, “See something,
say something,” to encourage
community members to call 911 if
they hear or see any crimes taking
place.
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