Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Fire Escape Burglaries Spike in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Police Say

 The 71st Precinct said there have been a rash of burglaries in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens this month, with thieves entering homes through fire escapes and rear windows.
The 71st Precinct said there have been a rash of burglaries in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens this month, with thieves entering homes through fire escapes and rear windows.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Rachel Holliday Smith

PROSPECT-LEFFERTS GARDENS — Police are looking for burglars who are breaking into local homes to steal electronics by climbing fire escapes and entering through rear windows, the NYPD said.

The 71st Precinct has received reports of 10 window burglaries in July in the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens area from Flatbush Avenue to New York Avenue between Empire Boulevard and Clarkson Avenue. This is an increase of more than 200 percent compared to the 3 reported burglaries in the area during the same period last year, according to police data.

In two of the reported burglaries, thieves pushed out window air conditioner units, police said. Most of the crimes occurred during daytime hours, with burglars targeting homes that are empty during the day.

Residents each lost between $300 and $2,000 worth of electronics, police said.

Apartments and houses were targeted nearly equally, police said  six of the burglaries occurred in apartments and four happened in houses.

Detectives at the 71st Precinct have increased patrols in the area to combat the rash of thefts, deploying more plainclothes officers to the burglarized blocks.

The precinct is asking residents to help avert the thefts by making sure windows are locked, properly securing window fans and air conditioning units in windows and reporting unusual behavior.

Residents are urged to contact the precinct with any information they may have about the burglaries, including videos, photos or descriptions of suspicious activity. The 71st Precinct's Community Policing Unit can be reached at (718) 735-0528.