The Daily News reports that there’s been a big jump in crimes in Clinton Hill so far this year, a rise that’s partially being blamed on a lack of fresh blood at the local precinct. The NYPD has recorded a 24 percent increase in robberies and a 43 percent jump in car theft in Clinton Hill compared to this time last year. While four officers were scheduled to leave the 88th Precinct this year, the station got no new officers from the graduating Police Academy class; an NYPD source told the paper that new recruits are being assigned to cover the Atlantic Terminal Mall rather than joining the precinct. “You get the feeling that [the attacks are] brazen, and people don’t think they will be caught,” said one resident. “If you had police either in their cars or walking up and down the street, it wouldn’t happen.” Councilperson Letitia James says the rise in crimes is “very, very scary,” and some residents are spearheading a letter-writing campaign to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly asking that the NYPD assign more officers to the neighborhood.
Clinton Hill Quaking in Crime Wave [NY Daily News]
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