GOWANUS — There's been a drop in crime near the new parole office that locals feared would flood Gowanus with ex-cons, police said.
"We keep track of all crimes at the parole center and we've actually seen that crime is down," said Capt. Frank DiGiacomo, commanding officer of the 78th Precinct, at a recent community council meeting.
DiGiacomo brought up the crime decrease after a resident asked if a recent spike in burglaries and robberies was linked to the parole office. DiGiacomo said the crime uptick was unrelated to the parole center.
As of June 28, there's been a 25 percent drop since last year in all crimes near the parole office and a 13 percent drop in major crimes such as robbery and assault, according to NYPD data.
DiGiacomo said he's sent officers on "directed patrols" near the parole office "to show our presence" since it opened this past spring at 15 Second Ave. near Eighth Street.
Neighbors fought the arrival of the center, where ex-prison inmates check in with their parole officers, take drug tests and get help with housing and jobs.
After residents sued to block the facility from opening, the state's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision agreed to cut the number of parolees the office serves from 6,000 to 2,000 for two years.
