UPPER MANHATTAN — The 34th Precinct in Upper Manhattan has seen a dramatic dip in crime so far in 2012, NYPD data showed — just a year after a troubling surge led to the ouster of the precinct's commanding officer.
Overall crime in the area has fallen 28 percent this year compared to the same time period in 2011, according to CompStat figures through Feb. 12. The decline has been felt nearly across the crime board, with just about every major category showing an improvement.
By comparison, the neighboring 33rd Precinct is down nearly 10 percent; the 28th Precinct in Harlem is up almost 20 percent, the data showed.
The drop in the 34th Precinct is in stark contrast to last year’s skyrocketing crime rate, which resulted in the removal of Jose Navarro, then-commanding officer of the 34th Precinct. When Navarro was bounced in August 2011, CompStat figures showed that nearly all crime was up nearly 23 percent from the previous year.
The crime spike led elected officials to call on NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly to increase police patrols and resulted in Inwood residents asking for separate police or satellite precincts to help protect the area. In response, the NYPD added an additional 50 police officers to the 34th Precinct as part of Operation Impact, the initiative in which the department floods targeted areas with extra police officers.
An additional 40 officers were added to the impact zone last year, said Deputy Inspector Barry Buzzetti, who replaced Navarro.
Still, Buzzetti said that while the focus on the impact zone — which stretches from W. 181st St. to W. 192nd, east of Broadway to Amsterdam Avenue — has led to a decline in crime in the precinct, challenges remain.
"We're still seeing a spike in crime in the zone," he told DNAinfo.
And the crime dip bares watching: the area received a similar team of reinforcements during a crime surge in 2010 — only to have them reassigned as soon as the crime wave seemed to wane.
The most recent statistics in 34th Precinct showed that there has been only one murder so far this year, compared to three in 2011; there were no rapes reported through Feb. 12, same as last year; and robberies and felony assaults are down nearly 22 percent, with 25 of each in 2012 compared to 32 last year.
Moreover, there were 20 burglaries this year compared to 30 in 2011; grand larceny is down nearly 27 percent, with only 19 incidents versus 26 last year; and auto theft is down 46 percent, with only seven incidents this year compared to 13 in 2011, the data showed.
Misdemeanor crimes, however, are up. There were 90 crimes of petit larceny versus only 70 last year, a 28 percent spike; misdemeanor assault is up 14 percent, with 65 incidents so far versus 57 last year; and there have been four instances of misdemeanor sexual assault, one more than last year.
