24 THE COURIER SUN • OCTOBER 30, 2014 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com HOWARD BEACH COP GIVES FIRST COMMUNITY REPORT OF PATROL BY SALVATORE LICATA [email protected] @Sal_Licata1 For a little over two months the Howard Beach Civilian Observation Patrol (COP) has been making rounds throughout the neighborhood to help deter crime. Between Aug. 18 and Oct. 22, the patrol has recorded a total of 148 incidents. Two of those incidents also saw NYPD response, according to Joe Thompson, president of the Howard Beach COP. Addressing crime prevention and quality-of-life issues, the patrol secured 13 car trunks, 26 garage doors, 10 doors leading into a house and 18 open house doors throughout the neighborhoods of Howard Beach, Old Howard Beach, Hamilton Beach and Lindenwood. “We are out here to work with the community and try to deter crime from happening,” Thompson said. During the 68-day period, the patrol also called in 13 complaints to 311 and dealt with 27 “miscellaneous” incidents, which included illegal fi shing in the area or ladders left at construction sites, Thompson said. The unit has also been involved in a number of community events, including the NYFAC bike loop, Hamilton Beach Baby parade, Charles Park clean-up and the most recent Halloween parade, where Thompson drove around in a hearse to add some more spirit to the event. Thompson said he was excited that his patrol has grown to its current 22 members with two marked and two unmarked patrol cars as it continues to help out the residents of Howard Beach. “This is what we do,” Thompson said. “And we do it to help renew the quality of life in the neighborhood.” 106th Precinct has major crime drop this month BY SALVATORE LICATA [email protected] @Sal_Licata1 The 106th Precinct had the largest crime drop of any precinct in the city during the last four-week period, the precinct commander told The Courier. Deputy Inspector Jeffrey Schiff said the 106th Precinct had a 32.3 percent drop in serious crime from Sept. 29 to Oct. 26 compared to the same period in 2013. Schiff said the nearly one-third decrease came about through better interaction with the community. “By keeping the community informed, residents are in a better position to help out the police,” Schiff said. “My cops have been working hard and it shows.” Overall, major crime fell from 164 incidents to 111 during the period and the precinct’s most persistent plague, auto theft, was nearly cut in half, from 29 car thefts in 2013 to 15 for the same period this year. Robberies tumbled from 34 to 24, burglaries fell from 23 to 15 and felony assaults dropped from 21 to 16. The largest drop in any category was in grand larceny, from 55 to 38. “We’ve changed up our strategies on the ways to attack these types of crimes,” Schiff said. “And it seems to be working.” THE COURIER/Photo by Salvatore Licata Tuesday, November 4th, Vote Nick Di iorio for Congress Fight DC Corruption | Create Jobs | Stand with Israel www.NickForNewYork.com FB.com/NickForNewYork • @NickForNewYork
SC10302014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above