QUEENS — The 103rd Precinct in Jamaica and Hollis saw a significant drop in overall crime numbers in the first week of its community policing program, NYPD officials said.
“It’s very encouraging,” said Capt. John Ganley, executive officer for the 103rd Precinct, who told residents at a community council meeting Tuesday night that the area had seen a nearly 38 percent decrease in overall crime last week.
“I’m not thinking that’s a coincidence,” he said. “I’m thinking the bad guys are seeing a lot more officers out there on patrol and they are thinking to themselves, ‘We've got a little army out there to deal with.’”
Under the program, 14 Neighborhood Coordination Officers are assigned to patrol specific areas in the precinct. These NCOs do not respond to 911 calls during a third of their shifts, using that time instead to attend community meetings and talk with residents and business owners in the precinct to address their concerns.
In addition to the new NCOs, the precinct also assigned more than three dozen officers to patrol cars that also monitor the same areas each shift.
According to statistics provided by Ganley, beginning Oct. 3 and Oct. 9 robberies fell nearly 29 percent from seven to five when comparing the same period of time last year and this year. Grand larcenies also dropped nearly 54 percent from 13 last year to six when compared to last year.
The 103rd Precinct reported no burglaries during the first week of to community policing program, compared to four during the same period last year. However there was one rape last week and none in 2015.
In total, there were 20 crimes were reported from Oct. 3 to Oct. 9 this year, compared to 32 last year.
“We are down 12 crimes, so that’s 12 people who weren’t victimized by crime that were victimized last year at this time,” Ganley said.
The nearby 113th Precinct, which introduced the community policing program last year, also attributed its recent drop in overall crime in part to the new policing initiative.
