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Carroll Gardens and Red Hook Precinct Sees 'Historic Lows' in Major Crime

 The 76th Precinct is seeing
The 76th Precinct is seeing "historic" lows in crime so far this year, its commanding officer said.
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DNAinfo/Nikhita Venugopal

CARROLL GARDENS — Fewer shootings, a lull in gang violence and an overall drop in major crime this year has made the 76th Precinct one of the safest in the city, its commanding officer said this week.

The precinct this year has seen a 21 percent drop in crime from Jan. 1 through July 17 compared to the same time a year ago — down 68 crimes overall — in the seven major crime categories, which includes robberies, burglaries, assault and rape, Deputy Inspector Elliot Colon told DNAinfo New York in an interview Monday afternoon.

The numbers mark "historic lows" for the precinct, according to Colon, who shared publicly accessible crime statistics through the NYPD's CompStat records. But the 76th precinct has repeatedly declined to provide the media with reports on open cases this year.

Colon also declined to comment on the death of a Red Hook mom who was found slashed across the neck in May, a case that remains under active investigation, he said.

The precinct, which covers Carroll Gardens, Red Hook, Cobble Hill, the Columbia Street Waterfront District and parts of Boerum Hill, is one of 10 commands that contributed to a citywide overall decrease for the first seven months this year, he said.

"It's a fair assessment to say that the 76th Precinct is safer now than in any other time," he said.

Last year, the precinct was plagued by a string a burglaries, frequent gunplay near the Gowanus Houses and a drive-by shooting involving gangs in Red Hook and Gowanus that wounded five people, including a pregnant woman. 

Shooting incidents — including ones that involve victims and ones that don't — are down so far this year when compared to the same period in 2015. That's coupled with a 33 percent increase in gun-related arrests from January through July.

Shootings near the Gowanus Houses in Boerum Hill last year prompted the police to devote additional resources to the area. But since the arrest of four suspects in the Red Hook shooting, violence near the Gowanus Houses has also quelled, the commanding officer said.

"It was like fireworks over there," Colon said, referring to the shootings near the Gowanus Houses last summer. "We've never taken our eye off Gowanus for 2016."

Gangs in Red Hook and Gowanus have a historic rivalry that dates back decades. But recent friendly interactions between the two neighborhoods, including regular basketball games that NYPD officers monitor, is helping those relations, Colon said.

"Now they see each other more as friends as opposed to foes," he said. 

To fight crime in the 76th Precinct, Colon said he focuses on three areas — community, technology and communication. 

Intel from local residents has helped catch suspects in multiple cases, including in the Red Hook drive-by shooting and a series of robberies that targeted teens in Carroll Gardens earlier this year.

Communication is also key, whether it's tweeting to the public, forming bonds with neighborhood youth, or keeping in contact with the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, nearby precincts, transit and housing bureaus.

In the robbery spree, for example, Colon conferred with Capt. Zahid Williams, of Transit District 30, to patrol the Carroll Street subway stop, which the suspects were using to get to the neighborhood.

"Everybody gets involved," Colon said. "Everybody gets their heads together."

Technology, including the use of NYPD smartphones, allows the precinct to keep tabs on dozens of gang members, career criminals and recidivists who live and work in the area.

That kind of "precision policing," what Colon calls a "less evasive" type of policing, has led to a drop in random stops both within the precinct and citywide, Colon said.

"I'm positive it will continue to work,"  he said of the precinct's efforts to fight crime.