The number of homicides from Jan. 1 to April 7 has dropped 10 percent to 18…
By Adam Kramer
The borough’s murder rate still has maintained its downward trend in the first third of the year, but there has been a slight spike recently in the number of killings in Queens.
The number of homicides from Jan. 1 to April 7 has dropped 10 percent to 18 from 20. But in the 28 days leading up to April 7, murders jumped 40 percent to seven from five during the same time period in 2001, according to the latest crime statistics compiled by the Police Department.
“It is kind of an anomaly,” said Assistant Chief Thomas Lawless, commander of Patrol Borough South. “Occasionally, we hit a spike, but in the last two weeks we have seen a decline. There was one homicide last week and none the week before.”
He said he was hopeful there has been some leveling off. The borough, Lawless said, was given extra Condor units because of the increase in violent crime. And he said a significant number of people had been arrested.
Queens also has seen a slight increase in the number of rapes in 2002. The number of rapes rose to 84 from 83 for a 1.2 percent increase.
The borough’s most visible murder in the last few weeks was the double shooting of a father and son in Jamaica. James Seecoomar Jr., 32, has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon in the March 27 shooting death of his father, James, 65, and his brother, Leonard, 35, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. He said Seecoomar allegedly shot his father and brother in the head after an argument at their home at 171-24 Liberty Ave. around 8:30 a.m.
“We look at the Compstat figures on a daily basis to see what is happening,” Lawless said. “In the 105th Precinct there was a large amount of violence — in the first eight weeks there were four homicides and eight shootings, but in the last eight weeks there was one homicide and one shooting
The 105th Precinct stretches from Glen Oaks to Queens Villages to Springfield Gardens and Laurelton.
“Soon as we see a trend, we double our efforts,” Lawless said. “We put more manpower on the street to address the violence.”
It is necessary to analyze statistics, he pointed out, because drug-related murders, domestic violence killings, robbery homicides and night club murders are treated differently and the Police Department has to tailor its response.
Queens’ two borough patrols have recorded divergent paths in crime trends so far this year.
Patrol Borough North has had a jump in the number of burglaries and grand larceny with the remaining five major crime categories declining. In Patrol Borough South there was an increase in the number of murders and rapes, while the other five crime categories dropped.
The seven major crime categories are murder, rape, robbery, felonious assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny auto.
“It’s tradition since the borough split,” Lawless said about the difference. He said the southern part of Queens has more violent crime than the northern section of the borough.
For those worried about a jump in crime in the warm summer months, Lawless said, “during the summer there is an increase in crime but not necessarily violent crime. People are out and up later. I am hopeful we don’t see violent crimes. Violence is something we can control by getting drugs and guns off of the street.”
All city police precincts compile and submit their crime numbers to police headquarters in Manhattan every Monday. The reports are used to compile crime statistics and ultimately are sent to the FBI.
Of the borough’s 16 precincts, the 105th Precinct has had the most murders from Jan. 1 to April 7 with five compared to one in the same time period last year. The precinct had a large jump in its homicide rate in 2001 to 18 from seven in 2000.
The 100th Precinct in the Rockaways had two murders this year, compared to zero during the same period last year. The 101st, also in the Rockaways, had one murder, compared to two last year. In 2002 the three people were killed in the 103rd, which covers Jamaica, for the same rate as a year earlier. The 113th, also in Jamaica, registered three murders compared to two last year.
The 106th Precinct covering South Ozone Park, Glendale and Ridgewood and the 109th, which covers Whitestone and Flushing and the 115th in Jackson Heights, had the same numbers of murders as last year: one. The 108th Precinct covering Woodside and Sunnyside also had one homicide, up from none in the same period last year.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
