Crime & Safety

Robberies Up 40%, NY Transplants the Common Target

The 76 Precinct is experiencing an overall 8 percent jump in crime.

Robberies are up 38 percent in the 76 Precinct, which covers Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Red Hook, Captain Jack Lewis told a rapt audience at the Wednesday night meeting of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association.

But most of the victims aren't obvious targets, like the elderly. The thieves are going after recent residents in their 20s and 30s, those exact residents that carry personal electronics.

"It's the transplanted New Yorker, not the person that was born and raised here, that seems to be the person that has electronic devices out," Lewis said, adding that this is a trend around the borough.

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"A lot of precincts are experiencing these types of robberies," he said. "Bed-Stuy, Williamsburg...places where there's a huge change in demographics."

"I think that's what's going on here."

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Lewis called most of the robberies - stealing property with the use of force - "impulse crimes."

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the types of items stolen are almost always personal electronics: iPhones, iPads and iPods.

In one instance, a woman in her 20s was jogging with an iPod or iPhone, and was stopped by some kids who asked her for the time, said Lewis. The woman proceeded to pull out her Apple device, which was quickly snatched.

"You don't have to be so nice," warned Public Affairs Officer Vinnie Marrone. "She didn't have to pull her phone out."

Lewis also said the crimes are being committed by packs of teenagers.

"They are coming of age, trying to make their bones," he said.

In particular, the 76 Precinct is looking at a group of teenagers in Red Hook, which reportedly have a name that they go by, though Lewis would not disclose it since they are not certain the crimes were committed by the group.

Some of the crimes committed have happened in the same location multiple times. Just this week three different robberies occurred near the corner of Degraw and Hoyt streets, said Lewis, with two happening on the same day.

The 76 Precinct has made arrests in connection with the robberies, but one recent arrest was thrown out before the person could be indicted by a grand jury. The victim positively identified the thief at the precinct, but then told the District Attorney she wasn't certain, Lewis said.

But the police know where he lives, Lewis said, and are "keeping a close eye on him."

Lewis said arrests are helping to put an end to the crimes.

In July, a rash of armed robberies occurred around the Smith and 9th Street subway station, resulting in the arrest of a Park Slope teen.

 

The 76 Precinct urges residents to report crimes immediately and to call 911 whenever they see suspicious behavior.


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