By Thomas Tracy
When it comes to crime-fighting, 2006 was the best of times for some and a so-so time for others. A mixed bag of CompStat results released this week shows that as cops throughout downtown Brooklyn celebrated a reduction in crime, not every precinct commander went home happy on New Year’s Day. All told, 16 people were killed in brownstone Brooklyn in 2006, twice the number from the previous year, thanks mostly to a massive spike of killing that occurred in Fort Greene. Statistics show that homicide numbers in the city jumped 9.2 percent in 2006, from 540 in 2005 to 590. Police said that just over a third of these murders took place in Brooklyn. Statistics show that 133 homicides were investigated in Brooklyn North, which encompasses the 84th and 88th Precincts. An additional 90 homicides took place in Brooklyn South, which oversees the operations of the 78th Precinct and the 76th Precinct. Driven by sharp increases in Crown Heights and Brownsville, homicide numbers in Brooklyn North jumped by nearly 15 percent, from 116 in 2005 to 133 last year. Homicide numbers dropped by five percent in Brooklyn South, which encompasses most of southern Brooklyn. Statistics show that there were five fewer homicides in Brooklyn South in 2006 than in 2005. “As the year ends, our success is measured by crime reduction statistics,” said Assistant Chief Joseph Fox, the commanding officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South. “Although these measurements are necessary, we can not forget that each crime number represents an actual person that became a victim within our borough. Families and loved one’s lives can become shattered by violent crimes and it is our obligation to pursue the offenders and prevent further criminal behavior.” Looking at the numbers, Brooklyn South saw crime decreases across the board. Along with the five percent drop in crime, there was a nearly nineteen percent drop in rape reports, from 226 in 2005 to 184 last year, eight percent drops in both burglaries and robberies (from 4,655 to 4,275 and 4,301 to 3,966 respectively) and a fifteen percent drop in car thefts, from 3,622 to 3,062 – or 560 less. “We in Patrol Borough Brooklyn South are proud of our officers and supervisors within the precincts, narcotics and all the specialized units who in conjunction with our community partners continue to reduce crime to record levels,” said Fox, adding that he anticipates that “the hard work and dedication that the members of the New York Police Department, particularly those in Brooklyn South will continue in keeping our city a safe place to live.” Among the four commands that cover downtown Brooklyn, the 76th Precinct in Carroll Gardens saw the biggest crime reductions with a 16 percent fall in felonies. At year’s end the precinct celebrated a 27 percent fall in burglaries and a 13 percent drop in felony assaults, officials said. The number of robberies in the command also fell by just over 10 percent, statistics show. “Overall crime is down and we’re looking forward to charging ahead,” Captain Michael Kemper, the commanding officer of the 76th Precinct told community council members Tuesday, a day after the year-end statistics were released. “We just want to thank the community for all of their support.” Most surprising was the news that not a single homicide took place in the 76th Precinct. It was the second time since 2000 that the precinct saw no killings. Officials said that the only felony to see an increase in the 76th Precinct was rapes, which jumped from three in 2005 to eight last year. The precinct with the smallest reduction in crime was the 84th Precinct in Brooklyn Heights, which saw a 3.5 percent decrease in crime. Police said that the 84th Precinct saw a 40 percent drop in rape reports, a 33 percent decrease in car thefts and a 12 percent fall in robberies. The number of felony assaults, however, jumped by nearly four percent, from 136 in 2005 to 141 last year, officials said. Grand larcenies, or non-violent thefts of $1,000 or more, which includes identity theft, increased by just over three percent, from 633 in 2005 to 655. The 84th Precinct did see a jump in homicides, statistics show. Two people were killed in Brooklyn Heights last year, including the 34-year-old man who was gunned down in the middle of November during an argument near the corner of Atlantic and 3rd avenues. Much like the 76th Precinct this year, no one was killed in the 84th Precinct back in 2005, officials said. The precinct with the largest jump in homicides was the 88th Precinct in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, which saw a 1000 percent increase, from one in 2005 to 11 last year. Officials said that the killings weren’t connected and many of the homicide victims died during the same incident. Three of the homicide victims – a mother and her two teenage children — had all been killed by the same man in the same apartment at the Walt Whitman Houses. Their killer was also found in the apartment, the victim of an apparent drug overdose. Also, two people were found murdered in a factory last winter, officials said. Despite the major leap in homicide reports, overall felony crime in the 88th Precinct fell by just over eight percent. The reductions included a nineteen percent drop in burglaries, from 234 in 2005 to 190 last year, a seventeen percent drop in robberies (from 318 to 264) and a 25 percent fall in car thefts (161 to 121), statistics note. The precinct that “broke even” when it comes to homicides was the 78th Precinct in Park Slope, which saw a five percent fall in felony crime. Cops in Park Slope saw a twenty percent drop in robberies, from 240 in 2005 to 191 last year, and a 25 percent drop in car thefts, from 184 to 138, even though it appeared that Honda thieves had spent most of the spring and summer preying on the neighborhood. Officials said that police did see a 28 percent increase in felony assaults, from 75 in 2005 to 96 last year.
