By Joe Anuta
Major crime dropped slightly in Forest Hills and Rego Park last year, according to crime statistics compiled by the 112th Precinct.
In total, there were 789 crimes committed in 2010 in the two neighborhoods, which is nearly 100 less than 2009’s 853, for a drop of nearly 7.5 percent.
The statistics are complied by the Police Department in each precinct on a weekly basis, where it tracks the seven major crime categories. The reports are added up throughout the year, as well as analyzed by the department to determine crime trends.
No murders were reported in the 112th Precinct up through Dec. 26, although there were four in the same span a year earlier, a decline of 100 percent.
Rapes dropped by about 33 percent to four in 2010 from six in the same span a year earlier.
Other declining statistics included burglaries, which fell by 22 percent to 133 in 2010 from 172 the year before. Grand larceny, which involves theft over $1,000, also dropped from 400 in 2009 to 371, an average of more than one a day. It marked a change of about 7 percent.
“We had another good year at the 112th,” Deputy Inspector Christopher Tamola said. “The men and women assigned to the 112th Precinct are working hard to continue to make Forest Hills and Rego Park the safest neighborhoods in New York.”
But there were increases in other categories, although they were slight.
Robberies rose by 3.5 percent. There were 119 in 2010, up from 115 in the preceding year.
Auto thefts also were higher, moving up by 8.5 percent to 102 from 94 in 2009.
The fluctuations in statistics over the last two years are minute when compared to the 1990s, according to Tamola.
Since 1993, the murder rate has dropped by 80 percent, rapes by 60 percent, robberies by about 80 percent and burglaries by about 90 percent.
As another example, Tamola cited auto thefts. Last year, 102 cars were stolen, but in 1999 that number was 864.
“Let’s make this year as good as the last one,” Tamola said as he addressed a group of officers standing at attention, ready to patrol the streets of Forest Hills and Rego park.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260-4566.
