NYPD Tries to Prevent Shabbos Car Break-Ins

The 66th Precinct has mounted an operation to stem the rise in the number of vehicles broken into around Boro Park in recent weeks, especially on Shabbos. Councilman David G. Greenfield expressed his appreciation for the effort and issued a warning to neighborhood residents about this ongoing pattern.

Over the past two weeks, a total of 18 vehicles have been broken into across Boro Park and surrounding neighborhoods. NYPD officers in the 66th Precinct and the four adjacent precincts have made 12 arrests of individuals caught breaking into vehicles over the past month.

After hearing from concerned residents over the past few weeks, Councilman Greenfield reached out to Deputy Inspector Michael Deddo, Commanding Officers of the 66th Precinct, to discuss increasing patrols around the neighborhood and other steps to discourage criminals from taking advantage of residents, especially during Shabbos. The area from 50th Street to 60th Street between 14th Avenue and 18th Avenue have been hit particularly hard; however, the NYPD warns that no block is immune from this problem.

“Even though we live in a safe neighborhood, it is important to always keep our guard up and take simple measures so that we don’t make it easy for criminals to target us,” said Greenfield.

Individuals have been captured on surveillance footage in several cases simply walking down a block and trying each vehicle door handle until finding one left unlocked. Drivers should always lock their vehicles, no matter where they are parked or for how long. In addition, Deputy Inspector Deddo is urging residents to remove items such as electronics from view, and to not leave any bags or containers visible, even if they do not actually contain anything valuable. When possible, park in well-lit, high traffic areas, and always report any suspicious individuals to the precinct or 911.

“This is one of those crimes that takes a lot of time and effort to make arrests, but we have been getting a lot of help from the community on this. The strength of the 66th Precinct is that we have a lot of eyes watching out and a lot of people who care, which makes it a neighborhood that the bad guys don’t come into. We don’t want to see the quality of life impacted for residents, so this is a huge focus for us,” said Deputy Inspector Deddo.

Deputy Inspector Deddo also credited Shomrim members with being instrumental in alerting the precinct of suspicious activity and apprehending several suspects. He noted that the large number of security cameras throughout the neighborhood also greatly assists police in making arrests.

Residents should always call 911 if they are the victim of a crime or witness a crime in progress. They can also contact the 66th Precinct at (718) 851-5611 and Councilman Greenfield at (718) 853-2704.

This article appeared in print on page D21 of the February 20th, 2013 edition of Hamodia.