Burglaries Down in Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Red Hook This Year After 2015 Spike

CARROLL GARDENS, BROOKLYN — So far this year, recorded burglaries in the NYPD precinct covering Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Red Hook are down about 28 percent compared to the first five months of 2015, according to police records.

Burglary reports in the area hit a 10-year high last year — at 132 burglaries, compared to 96 the year before — and threw the neighborhood into a state of paranoia. One resident of a brownstone on Third Street near Smith Street, for example, found $20,000 worth of family jewelry stolen from her home last August — just two weeks before her wedding day.

But if the downward trend in local burglaries holds for the rest of 2016, we could be looking at levels more on par with 2013 and 2014, which were historically low on break-ins.

Many other types of major crimes in the area are down as well.

The most recent crime statistics released by the 76th Precinct show that through May 29:

• 2 murders were recorded, compared to 1 during the same period last year
• 2 rapes were recorded, compared to 2 last year
• 32 robberies were recorded, compared to 38 last year
• 36 felony assaults were recorded, compared to 43 last year

Brooklyn statistics
The NYPD's weekly crime updates track major crime categories, such as rape, grand larceny (crimes against property worth at least $1,000, or certain types of property, like credit and debit cards), burglaries and felony assaults.

Combined statistics from the police precincts covering Brooklyn North and Brooklyn South show that there were 11,198 major recorded crimes in Brooklyn through May 29, compared to 12,054 during that period in 2015 — a drop of about 7 percent.

The borough saw 40 murders through May 29, compared to 47 during the same period last year — a decrease of 15 percent.

There were also 117 recorded Brooklyn shooting incidents and 141 shooting victims in 2016, compared to 173 incidents with 199 victims in 2015.

New York City statistics
Citywide statistics show that recordings of major crimes remained about even through May 29 when compared to last year (38,920 incidents compared to 38,943 in 2015).

A total of 124 murders were committed, down from 140 through May 29 last year. (These are historically low numbers: The city recorded 2,262 murders in 1990.) Burglaries and robberies in 2016 were also down.

But rapes have increased this year to 563, compared to 519 last year. Felony assaults and grand larcenies were up as well.

Top image courtesy of Yumi Kimura/Flickr