By Michelle Han
A dramatic reduction in burglaries marked the first three months of 2000 in the 102nd Precinct, police statistics showed.
The 102nd Precinct covers the neighborhoods of Richmond Hill, Kew Gardens, and parts of Woodhaven and Ozone Park.
Burglaries dropped by 20.7 percent in 2000 through April 2, the most recent date for which statistics were available. There were 148 burglaries so far this year, compared to 188 burglaries for the same period last year.
Capt. Michael Coan of the 102nd Precinct said the precinct started out the year with a much higher burglary rate than 1999 because of a string of burglaries lingering from last year in which the culprits got away by using fire escapes.
A burglary apprehension team was formed to focus on breaking the fire escape pattern, Coan said. The effort eventually led to the arrests of two men, one in the 107th Precinct and one in Brooklyn, who were believed to be responsible, Coan said.
