Uptick in robberies, Grand larcenies have ‘No real pattern’

Police officers are working overtime, including in the subway system, to combat an uptick in robberies and grand larcenies within neighborhoods in the 24th Precinct.

There were six robberies and 16 grand larcenies within the precinct during the week of May 4 to May 10, five more robberies and six more grand larcenies than during the same period last year.

To date this year, 51 robberies have been committed within the 24th’s confines, compared to 41 through mid-May last year, a 24 percent increase, the precinct’s commanding officer, Capt. Marlon Larin, said. Through May 10, there had been 210 grand larcenies, or 16 percent more than the 181 reported through the same period last year, according to the precinct statistics.

“There’s no real pattern,” Larin said.

Five rapes within the precinct have been reported this year, two more than last year at this time. Three rapes were reported in the 28-day period ending May 10, according to precinct statistics. There have been no killings, although a number of people have been shot, including three on Columbus Avenue in the precinct’s north end, in a roughly one-month period ending April 26.

The 24th Precinct extends from West 86th Street to West 110th Street and stretches to Central Park.

At a recent precinct community council meeting, the 24th’s crime prevention officer, Officer Jessenia Guzman, told people to not leave property unattended and to be aware of their surroundings, particularly in the subway system.

Earlier this year, a group of juveniles in the southern section of the precinct were held responsible for a rash of robberies, said Larin. The juveniles were arrested.

“With the increases for the year, the juvenile problem didn’t help,” he said. “But I think we’re ready to say we abated that problem.”

Two recent robberies involved assaults on women by groups of men. One occurred at 106th Street and Central Park West and the other in the Douglass Houses, which are on Columbus Avenue between 100th and 104th Streets. Larin said his officers are working to determine whether the crimes are related.

There’s also been an uptick in pickpocket activity across the city, including within the 24th. Larin said groups of officers are riding subways trains overnight in an attempt to catch the crew responsible.