By Michelle Han
Crime in the 112th Precinct was down in every major category in 1999 with the one exception of felonious assaults, making Forest Hills and Rego Park among the safest neighborhoods in Queens and citywide, police statistics show.
The overall crime rate in the 112th Precinct in 1999 was down 20 percent from 1998, a much steeper decrease than the 8 percent drop in crime boroughwide. Throughout the city the overall crime rate fell 8 percent as well.
The steepest drops in crime in the 112th Precinct were in reports of burglary, which decreased 39 percent, and grand larceny, which declined 28 percent Robberies dropped by 12 percent and automobile theft was down 6 percent.
The murder rate remained consistent with 1998, with two murders taking place in 1999. The number of rapes held steady at seven incidents in 1999.
The only major crime category to record an increase in 1999 in the 112th Precinct was felonious assaults, which jumped to 100 in 1999 from 84 in 1998, an increase of 19 percent.
Police define felonious assault as inflicting severe physical injury on a victim, whereas merely brandishing a weapon is considered menacing.
Community affairs officer David Valovage said the rise in felonious assaults echoed a larger pattern in the reporting of crime citywide
