By James DeWeese
Police Department statistics released this week showed a decrease in every one of seven major crime categories, including murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and auto theft as compared to the same figures for 2003.The number of murders in the precinct that covers portions of Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside dropped from three in 2003 to two in 2004, the data showed. The decline continued a trend that has seen the annual murder rate fall by some 80 percent as compared to 11 years ago. Of all seven major crimes, rape fell the most between 2003 and 2004. In 2003, there were 23 reports of rape. Last year that number declined by 56.5 percent to 10.Overall, major crime reports fell from 2,216 in 2003 to 2,004 in 2004, a decrease of more than 9.5 percent.
