Assaults and Grand Larcenies Up in Southeastern Sunset Park: NYPD

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — Assaults and grand larcenies were more common in southeastern Sunset Park between April and August than during the same period in 2015, newly released police statistics show.

Sunset Park is patrolled by the NYPD's 72nd Precinct. Under the community policing model the 72nd adopted in April, the precinct is divided into four sectors (as shown in the below map), with two Neighborhood Command Officers, or NCOs, dedicated to each.

The NCOs assigned to Sector D are Officers Sue Liu and Richard Fuentes Jr. During a public workshop they hosted Thursday, Fuentes said that robberies had increased in the sector in recent months, citing as an example an at-large thief who had stolen necklaces from the necks of multiple pedestrians.

On Friday, Fuentes shared the below crime statistics for the sector, which compare the same April-to-August period in 2015 and 2016.

The number show that seven more assaults were recorded during the period this year than in 2015, while 17 additional grand larcenies were recorded.

(It is possible that crimes such as necklace stealing were categorized as grand larcenies rather than robberies if the stolen items were worth more than $1,000. Patch has requested further information from the NYPD, and we'll update this post if we receive it.)

The statistics also show seven fewer burglaries this year than in 2015, and two fewer car thefts.

Overall, major crimes in Sector D between April and August were collectively up 13 percent compared to the same period in 2015.

That could help explain the uptick in the 72nd Precinct's overall crime rate.

Through Aug. 21, major crimes precinct-wide were collectively up 9.3 percent compared to the same period in 2015, according to official NYPD statistics.

However, NCOs from Sector C, which covers central Sunset Park, said on Wednesday that crime in their sector had fallen in recent months compared to the same period in 2015.

And in late July, the NCOs patrolling Sector A, which covers Windsor Terrace and South Slope, said crime remains low in those neighborhoods.

Lead photo by Giacomo Barbaro/Flickr