BY ANNA GUSTAFSON
Crime is generally down in the 111th Precinct this year with no murders reported, but there has been an increase in the number of rapes and felony assaults, according to statistics from the NYPD.
There was one murder last year and zero as of Dec. 19 this year. The number of robberies fell from 85 last year to 80 this year, while grand larcenies dropped from 387 in 2009 to 356 this year and there were 136 grand larceny auto cases this year compared to 168 last year, the Police Department said.
“Grand larceny is hard to combat, but we are doing really well,” 111th Precinct Capt. Ron Leyson told the Community Board 11 meeting last month. “We are still struggling with break-ins.”
The NYPD said there have been six rapes, a 50 percent increase over the four rapes reported last year in the 111th Precinct, which covers Bayside, Little Neck, Douglaston, Auburndale, and parts of Fresh Meadows.
Felony assaults are also on the rise in the area, with 51 incidents reported this year compared to 40 last year, according to city statistics. Leyson has pointed out that 10 of those felony assault charges emerged from one incident during which a man struck police officers with a vehicle while attempting to flee.
Leyson has stressed that individuals should take precautions to lock their homes and cars, and he noted many break-ins happen because individuals leave valuables in plain sight.
“When you leave your laptop in your backseat or your purse on the floor of your car, you are inviting criminals to rob you,” Leyson said at the CB 11 meeting. “There are people out there waiting to prey on you.”
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown has praised the 111th Precinct, which he noted at the last precinct meeting had seen a decrease in murders despite a citywide trend in the other direction. There have been 516 murders in the city so far this year, compared to 454 last year – a 13.7 percent spike, according to the NYPD.
Rapes, robberies and felony assaults also rose in the city, but the number of burglaries, grand larcenies, and grand larceny auto dropped.
Murders in Queens North also were also on the rise in 2010, with 30 reported as of Dec. 19, compared to 27 last year. Rapes, felony assaults, burglaries, and grand larceny auto also rose in the Queens North precincts, according to city statistics. There were fewer robberies and grand larceny auto cases this year than last, the NYPD reported.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
