Watch your belongings when strangers visit your home, the 106th Precinct‘s commander warned residents during Wednesday’s 106th Precinct Community Council meeting in Ozone Park.
The precinct is up five crimes for the month and 19 crimes for the year, according to Deputy Inspector Jeffrey Schiff. Unattended property theft is up 83 percent for the month and is the main factor driving up crime numbers.
Schiff said six of the 15 perpetrators arrested for theft this month were hired contractors, food delivery people or other hired help who had access to the victims’ homes and, subsequently, their property.
“If you have strangers in your house, you need to be aware of their whereabouts,” Schiff said.
But the precinct has seen reductions in other crime categories, the commander noted. Grand larceny, which had been a major problem in the precinct, is down by 17 percent for the month and 34 percent for the year. Car thefts are down 90 percent for the year, but tire and rim thefts are still up slightly, according to Schiff.
The precinct was also successful in taking more than $100,000 in illegal fireworks off the streets ahead of the July Fourth holiday, he said.
“My officers and special operations team did a very good job of conducting a search warrant,” Schiff said. “We got information about $100,000 worth of fireworks. It was a huge catch.”
Schiff also announced the addition of 12 new cops to the precinct. Southern Queens, including the 113th Precinct, received the “lion’s share” of the new rookies, he said.
The precinct also conducted a sting on June 20 on nine bars in the area and five of those bars were selling alcohol to underage patrons. There were five arrests and the precinct reported the businesses to the State Liquor Authority.
“We want to make sure everybody’s safe and we want to make sure this community isn’t getting a black eye because of some nonsense that may emanate from such locations,” Schiff said.
At the end of the meeting, P.O. Joseph Lanzetta received Cop of the Month honors for arresting a perpetrator who stole from a Rite Aid on Rockaway Boulevard on June 10. After fingerprinting the suspect, police found that the man was wanted for murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the 113th Precinct.
The award was donated by the Ridgewood Times.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
