Crime on the rise

Wakefield Area News

By Mary V. Lauro

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 9- There is no doubt that crime is on the rise throughout the City. 

From January 1, 2012 to June 31, 2012, crime throughout the City rose 4.31 percent. In the Bronx it rose 2.67 percent. But don't let those figures fool you. They are averages. Some areas have seen more of a rise than other areas. For example, the 47th Precinct saw a rise of 6.44 percent. That means that so far this year, it is not the contender for the most crime ridden. To date, Comp Stat figures show it at 959 felony crimes running fourth behind the 43rd, 44th and 52nd Precincts.

By the same token, all areas of the 47th Precinct do not have the same crime rate. Of the 11 sections into which the 47th is broken, the safest and least crime ridden is the Woodlawn community which has only three percent of the crime. Compare that with our own Wakefield which has 13 percent, making it the second highest crime section in the 47th. Keep in mind that if crime were equally spread throughout the precinct, all sections would have 9 percent of the crime

With sarcasm we note that so far, we have lost our title to the highest number of homicides. That distinction goes to the 48th which had 8. The 47th had 7. We were, however, the highest in rapes at 19. The 46th trailed us at 16. The 43rd beat us at robbery. It had 255. We had 230. In felonious assault the 43rd also beat us at 248, but we were close behind at 236. But in burglary, we beat them all at 511.We also get the title for the most auto thefts at 111.

The largest drop in crime was achieved by the 40th Precinct which fell by 10.12 percent. The 45th also did well at a drop of 6.61 percent. By contrast, the 47th went up by 6.44 percent.

We never cease to wonder at the 50th Precinct which always has the lowest crime rate, but continues to fall. The 50th includes Riverdale which, as everyone knows, is not a poverty area. One wonders whether its success ties in an overabundance of police presence in its streets. We suggest strolling through Riverdale noting how many patrol cars one meets. Then stroll through Wakefield to note the same thing. But don't hold your breath.

The NYPD loves to include in its Comp Stat figures changes that have occurred 2 years ago as well as 11 and 19 years ago. No matter how much crime rises, it insists that we look at how much more improved crime rates are from the height of the crime wave back in 1993. That is silly. That crime rate was the result of foolishness on the part of the NYPD. We expect it to be more efficient than it was then.

We note however statistics for the 2-year difference which add proof to the increase in crime throughout the City. These past two years the City rose in crime by 4.31 percent, the Bronx by 1.98 percent. Note the, rise in the 47th Precinct was substantially higher at 9.23 percent!

All of this is not to be construed as a criticism of the officers or commanders in our 47th Precinct. We can only praise them for the job they do with their limited resources. It is to be construed as an indictment of the manner by which the NYPD assigns officers. Last April we were overjoyed that Commissioner Kelly sent 43 officers to the 47th which it sorely needed. Less than a month later, 25 were removed!

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