By Stephen Witt
Felony crime continues to plummet in the 67th Precinct covering Flatbush and East Flatbush. According to the latest official NYPD crime statistics, major crime complaints including murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and auto theft is down about 8 percent thus far in 2008 as compared to this time in 2007. Of these crime categories, burglary is down about 24 percent with 87 reported incidents thus far this year as compared to 115 at this time last year. Dropping by about 39 percent is auto thefts with 45 incidents reported thus far in 2008 as compared to 74 at this time last year. Captain John Lewis, the precinct’s second in command, attributed the drop in burglary to police in the precinct making significant arrests plus, being able to make those arrest stick, and thus keeping the bad guys in jail. The precinct is just about flat in grand larceny with 140 incidents reported thus far in 2008 as compared to 139 at this time last year. Lewis said there remains a problem with cell phones being stolen, where perpetrators see someone using their text messaging and then go riding past the unknowing victims and snatching the phones. There have been three reported murders thus far this year as compared to four at this time last year. Lewis said the latest murder happened at about 1:15 a.m., March 15 on East 53rd Street between Tilden Avenue and Beverley Road. There was a dispute at a private party on the block that that spilled outside and two youths got into a fight. A kid from Crown Heights was stabbed once in the chest and police rushed him to Kings County Hospital, but he didn’t make it, said Lewis. Lewis said the investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made yet. Shootings are up for the year with 12 reported shooting thus far in 2008 as compared to 8 last year. Lewis pointed out, however, that last year the 67th Precinct went some 40 days without a shooting early last year, which was a record. Gun arrests are down for the year with 34 thus far this in 2008 as compared to 69 at this time in 2007. The precinct led the city in gun arrests last year and still is one of the city’s top precincts in taking guns off the street, said Lewis. “We’re working on it one gun at a time. That’s how it works. People can help us by using the 1-800-GUN-STOP number,” said Lewis. Lewis said the precinct works hard in identifying recidivists, and alerting the district attorney’s office so that law enforcement authorities can work in collusion if a crime pattern develops, in which the recidivist might be involved. At the beginning of the year the precinct had a guy arrested for a shooting who had long criminal history including several gun and robbery arrests, said Lewis. Lewis said the precinct also reaches out to the Department of Corrections and Department of Probation to try to keep career criminal locked up. “Once we keep him [a recidivist] in, it tends to keep crime down because who’s more likely to shoot somebody or rob somebody, but someone who’s already been arrested doing it,” said Lewis. Lewis said the precinct is also working with the borough command to get the 75 officers fresh from the academy who are part of the borough’s Impact Response Team (IRT) back to the precinct. They are currently in the 71st Precinct and the 67th precinct hopes to get them back next week, he said. Lewis said the IRT will be deployed as a visible presence to deter street robberies and crimes of that nature.
