By Alex Davidson
Incidents in the 106th Precinct, which includes the communities of Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach and Broad Channel, dived by 16.72 percent during 2003, continuing the area's downward trend of documented criminal acts. Crime in the precinct has plummeted by 78.12 percent during the last 10 years, the statistics from Jan. 1 to Dec. 7 showed.
Repeated calls to the 106th Precinct's office of community affairs were not returned.
The 106th Precinct showed the biggest percentage drop in major crimes for the year in Queens based on the NYPD statistics.
For the 2003 calendar year, the number of murders decreased by 71.4 percent, from seven reported incidents in 2002 to two last year. The number of robberies fell by 14.8 percent from 256 incidents to 218, felony assaults by 25.5 percent from 188 to 140, burglaries by 17.1 percent from 257 to 213, grand larcenies by 6.2 percent from 302 to 283 and auto thefts by 21.6 percent from 568 to 445, the statistics cited.
The only increase in the criminal categories was among incidents of rape, which jumped by 84.6 percent from 13 incidents in 2002 to 24 incidents in 2003. This continued an upward trend from the previous year, accounting for a 71.4 increase in the number of reported rapes during the two-year period, according to the statistics.
During the last decade, the 106th Precinct has experienced decreases among all categories tracked by the Police Department. The number of murders has fallen by 90.4 percent, rapes by 22.5 percent, robberies by 73.6 percent, felony assaults by 64.1 percent, burglaries by 81.2 percent, grand larcenies by 48.4 percent and auto thefts by 85.6 percent, the statistics showed.
The 106th Precinct has not yet received additional officers under the mayor's “Operation Impact” plan, which has benefited the nearby 102nd Precinct in Richmond Hill and 103rd Precinct in Jamaica. The initiative aims to flood high-crime areas with police officers to reduce the number of criminal and violent incidents.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by calling 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
