Crime may be down again citywide, but overall statistics have inched up in one Bronx precinct where the number of shootings is back up to 1993 levels.
NYPD brass use 1993 figures as a benchmark to show how much crime has plummeted, so they’re troubled by the surge in gunplay at the 52nd Precinct, covering Bedford Park.
The question is: Do the numbers simply highlight an isolated problem in one precinct, or are they a sign the city’s vaunted crime-busting may be bottoming out?
“The Police Department is concerned whenever there is any rise in crime, and we address it,” NYPD spokesman Chief Thomas Fahey said, pointing out shootings in the 52nd were down significantly until this year.
The latest statistics show 13 shooting incidents in the 52nd Precinct this year – a 44 percent increase over the same period last year and an 85 percent jump over the year before that.
Even more startling, though, is that the number of shootings this year is on par with gunplay from the dark days of 1993, and the number of victims has even topped those levels.
Admittedly, the shooting stats are just one part of the picture.
After all, crime in the seven major categories – murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, grand larceny and auto theft – is still down 49 percent from 1993 levels in the 52nd.
But there’s cause for concern there, too, because the total crime rate for the precinct is up slightly from last year, even as it’s fallen 7.5 percent citywide.
A jump in burglaries – from 313 to 406 – between last year and this year accounts for most of the 1.4 percent hike in the overall crime rate for the precinct.
The number of murders has also doubled, from five to 10, in line with a citywide trend of more homicides – which is especially pronounced in The Bronx.
In Bedford Park – an area that includes the Bronx Zoo and New York Botanical Gardens – the stats didn’t surprise bus driver Carl Majors, 33, who says his Bx55 bus has been hit by bullets.
“I worry about shootings all the time,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense. Giuliani puts a lot of cops on the streets, but the shooting rate is the same. It’s outrageous.”
But others said they didn’t see any real danger on the street.
“I’m surprised by the numbers,” said Kevin Coffey, 25, a researcher for the Botanical Garden. “I keep my eye out for problems, but I usually feel safe walking around here.”