Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Concern Over Increase In Robberies In Carroll Gardens

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According to Captain Lewis of the 76th Precinct, which covers South Brooklyn, there has been an uptick in the crime statistics for the area lately. Robberies in particular are up 40%. At last night's Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association monthly meeting, Captain Lewis called them "impulse crimes" mostly involving the theft of electronic devices such as I pods and I phones. Apparently, many of the the robberies are clustered in 4-5 block areas and have been committed by a specific group of young men between the ages of 14 to 17. Captain Lewis assured the community that the precinct is 'throwing all our resources at this." Several arrests have been made.

One local resident reached out to me in the email below to express her concern about a particular incident that happened on Degraw Street on Tuesday afternoon. She writes:
I live on Degraw between Court and Smith. Last night, around 1:00 am, the fourth floor tenant in my building witnessed (from his window) a neighbor across the street being harassed and mugged by a group of six young men. The tenant called the police, but they took approximately 7 minutes to show up, by which point the young men has sauntered away with the wallet and thrown a trash can at the head of the man who was robbed. Today, I have spoken with many neighbors on the block who are concerned about what seems to be a rise in crime lately. I just learned that both a building next door and one across the street have been robbed this past year. In my building, we have contacted the police about setting up a meeting with the community affairs officer. I wonder if other residents might be interested in participating, and I thought that perhaps writing to you would be a good place to start.
We are all still quite shaken about what happened last night. I love this neighborhood; even though I have only been living here for four years, I am the fourth generation in my family to live in Carroll Gardens, so I am very committed to its safety and prosperity.
The 76th Precinct is holding its monthly community meeting on Tuesday, September 13th at 7:30 PM at the precinct house at 191 Union Street . This is the perfect place to bring up these concerns and to get first hand information from the police.And as always, if you see anything suspicious or witness an incident, please call 911 immediately.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

a friend ended up in the hospital earlier this week because a group of kids threw a rock at his head for fun. While he was down, one of the kids went to take his phone, but then thought twice because it was covered in so much blood.

I'd have to agree that there's a problem.

Anonymous said...

I don't know but I feel extremely safe. I just came back from south Florida. The place is a war zone.

Anonymous said...

I've not been feeling as safe as I had in the past. I don't like the increase in crime that I keep hearing about. It is all too close to home. Thanks for letting us know what we can do about it.
And remember Anon-places don't become a war zone over night, it happens slowly..the more that is tolerated, the worse it becomes.

Anonymous said...

I got robbed at the end of June around 4am as I was waiting for a ride to the airport on 1st and Hoyt. Two African American gentlemen in their late 20's early 30's stole my iPhone. It was non-violent as I pretty much just let them have it because I was more concerned about the rest of my luggage (laptop, camera, etc).

I didn't bother reporting it because it's just a cell phone, and I seriously doubt the cops could have done anything about it anyway.

Makes you wonder though how many more people like me don't bother to report these kinds of minor non-violent thefts in Carroll Gardens.

Anonymous said...

Indeed, I'm sure many cases go unreported. I was mugged last year on Court between 9th and Huntington. Two guys robbed my cell phone and I never reported it because it was just a cell phone. But it sounds like these minor thefts are on the rise in the neighborhood lately .....

concetta said...

anon 3:00, what was so 'gentelmenly' about what happened to you? i find it disturbing how people around here don't report crimes, yet blame the cops when there's an increase.

Anonymous said...

I truly believe it has to do with the closing of Smith and 9th street. My neighbors son was assaulted for his ipod. A few businesses nearby have been broken into and even robbed while open. Ive noticed it now more than ever.