By Adam Pincus
The 75th Precinct in Brooklyn had 56 rapes, down from 80 the year before.But even as the number of rapes reached a record high in the 115th Precinct, the number of murders dropped to three, the lowest level in decades, the figures revealed, in an area estimated to be populated by nearly 200,000 people.Police attributed the increased number of sexual assaults to an increase in reporting by victims of violent crime, a law enforcement official said.Rapes, which fell from 39 in 1990 to 22 in 1998 in the 115th Precinct, have risen sharply since then. Sexual assaults in other precincts in the borough rose as well. Rape climbed from 31 last year to 41 in the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst and rose from 10 last year to 25 in the 108th, which covers Woodside and Sunnyside.Boroughwide rapes increased about 9 percent to 403 for the year, according to the crime statistics compiled by the Police Department through Dec. 18.As the most violent indexes rose, others fell in the 115th Precinct. Neighbors saw the number of robberies fall by about 7 percent to 410, and the number of grand larcenies decline by more than 12 percent to 581 over the prior year, the figures showed.Burglaries stayed nearly identical from last year at 491 as did felonious assaults, which were up by one to 275.The total number of violent crimes in the precinct dropped by about 7 percent to 2,178, according to police figures.Several incidents that resulted in violent deaths were not classified as homicides, including a hit-and-run and a shooting. Carmen Lata, 25, and her infant son, Alex Chimbo, died after a green van struck and killed them on Northern Boulevard near 102nd Street on May 23. No one has been charged in their deaths.Several months later, on July 18, there was a shooting death that authorities later ruled was justifiable, so the gunman was not charged.Victims of sexual violence can call the Safe Horizons hotline at 212-227-3000.Reach reporter Adam Pincus by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
