By Stephen Stirling
Through the first three months of 2008, felony assaults are down more than 29 percent while burglaries are down 46 percent when compared with this time last year. Both are crimes that were singled out as problems for the precinct, which covers the communities of Flushing, Whitestone, College Point, Malba, Beechhurst and parts of Auburndale and Bay Terrace, as each had shown substantial increases from 2006 to 2007.There have been 46 felonious assaults reported in the precinct, down from 67 reported by April 6 of last year. “We've arrested 115 people for burglary since January 1, 2007, and 28 of those are what we would call career criminals,” Whelan said. “With them being off the streets we've started to see these drops in burglaries month to month.” Whelan said one reason for the drop is a new outreach program started by the precinct this year, which has seen officers working alongside club and bar owners in the area to reduce crime in such establishments.He said last year, 53 of the reported assaults – or 21 percent – occurred in bars or clubs, mainly in downtown Flushing.Burglaries have also been a problem in northern Queens and the 109th Precinct, but so far this year there have been 95 reported burglary cases, down from 176 at this time last year, said Whelan.The murder rate has remained consistently low over the last few years and the 109th Precinct has recorded just one homicide so far this year to remain even with last year's statistics. Grand larceny reports have also remained similar to last year's statistics, with 222 reported cases of the crime so far this year, one less than last year's April 6 total of 223.While major crimes are down overall in the 109th, the precinct has seen increases in reported rapes, robberies and car thefts. Car thefts are up 42 percent – from 69 to 98 – from this time last year, but Whelan noted that the crime is down more than 77 percent from the total 15 years ago, when the precinct ranked in the top five in the city in the crime.So far in 2008, there have been six reported rapes, up from five at this time last year. Robberies have showed a more dramatic increase, jumping from 55 reported cases at this time last year to 67 as of April 6 this year, a more than 21 percent increase. Whelan said the Precinct is working to address the increases in the coming months.”We're going to change gears and try and attack the robberies and the [auto thefts] we've had the spike in,” he said.He said officers from the 109th Precinct will be conducting VIN-etching on April 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the 20th Avenue Shopping Center in College Point. Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e-mail at Sstirling@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
