Crime Trending Down In 2011 So Far

While police budgets may be shrinking and residents might be quicker to raise the alarm, crime is largely on the decline in the , with a handful of notable exceptions.

, in 2011, crime is down in almost every category according to COMPSTAT numbers made available by the NYPD, with the only major exception being incidents of burglary.

There has been a 69.2 percent increase in burglaries this year, with 22 reported so far compared to 13 in the same period during 2010.

Petit larcenies have also seen a small jump of less than 10 percent, from 92 in the first six weeks of 2010 to 101 so far this year.

Other than those jumps, however, crime has seen a strong decline in the area.

There have been 12 robberies in the precinct so far this year, a number that has been cut in half compared to the same period last year. Despite the uproar last month over a rash of muggings in the area, reported robbery numbers in the precinct remain low for the year so far.

Commanding Officer Christopher Tamola said that since an arrest was made — in which a Nassau County resident was charged for two of the robberies in the area —

One more positive sign for police in the area? The number of auto thefts this year appear to be plummeting so far, with just seven reported car thefts in the first six weeks of 2011, compared with 16 in the same period during 2010.

At their most recent precinct council meeting, police credited the drop in car thefts to a number of programs they’ve instituted in the area, including VIN-etching and a driver-stop program in which car owners volunteer to have their cars pulled over if younger drivers are seen behind the wheel late at night.