Concern Over Increase In Robberies In Carroll Gardens

According to Captain Lewis of the 76th Precinct, which covers South Brooklyn, there has been an uptick in the crime statistics for the area lately. Robberies in particular are up 40%. At last night's Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association monthly meeting, Captain Lewis called them "impulse crimes" mostly involving the theft of electronic devices such as I pods and I phones. Apparently, many of the the robberies are clustered in 4-5 block areas and have been committed by a specific group of young men between the ages of 14 to 17. Captain Lewis assured the community that the precinct is 'throwing all our resources at this." Several arrests have been made.

One local resident reached out to me in the email below to express her concern about a particular incident that happened on Degraw Street on Tuesday afternoon. She writes:

I live on Degraw between Court and Smith. Last night, around 1:00 am, the fourth floor tenant in my building witnessed (from his window) a neighbor across the street being harassed and mugged by a group of six young men. The tenant called the police, but they took approximately 7 minutes to show up, by which point the young men has sauntered away with the wallet and thrown a trash can at the head of the man who was robbed. Today, I have spoken with many neighbors on the block who are concerned about what seems to be a rise in crime lately. I just learned that both a building next door and one across the street have been robbed this past year. In my building, we have contacted the police about setting up a meeting with the community affairs officer. I wonder if other residents might be interested in participating, and I thought that perhaps writing to you would be a good place to start.

We are all still quite shaken about what happened last night. I love this neighborhood; even though I have only been living here for four years, I am the fourth generation in my family to live in Carroll Gardens, so I am very committed to its safety and prosperity.

The 76th Precinct is holding its monthly community meeting on Tuesday, September 13th at 7:30 PM at the precinct house at 191 Union Street . This is the perfect place to bring up these concerns and to get first hand information from the police.And as always, if you see anything suspicious or witness an incident, please call 911 immediately.