Burglaries are surging in the Big Apple during the coronavirus lockdown — and there’s little that cops can do about it, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said Wednesday.
Burglars picked up by police are being put back out on the street “immediately” to commit more crimes, Shea told 1010 WINS radio.
“It’s frustrating. The cops are out there making arrests for these burglaries,” the city’s top cop said.
But “[w]ith the existing law, what’s happening is the individuals are being released immediately and that’s something that ultimately in the end will have to be fixed,” Shea said, referring to bail reforms that took effect in January.
A total of 259 commercial and residential burglaries were reported citywide April 13-19 — a 36.3-percent rise from the 190 reported during that period last year, according to the latest NYPD stats.
Burglaries also rose 25 percent during the 28-day period ending April 19 compared to the same time frame last year, stats show.
Commercial burglaries skyrocketed 122 percent between March 12 and Sunday — from 275 in 2019 to 612 this year, cops said.
One alleged serial thief, Billy Queen, was charged with three heists this month alone, only to be released each time when prosecutors declined to press charges due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The 39-year-old Brooklynite, was busted on April 2 for allegedly breaking into a garbage truck and later stealing from a bodega, according to police.
He was busted again on Saturday for allegedly trying to break into a Cobble Hill storefront with bolt cutters, police said.
Another accused burglar, Victor Castillo, 32, was released from jail on March 24 due to COVID-19 concerns only to be arrested three more times, according to police records.
Cops charged Castillo with trespassing on April 2 and April 11, but he was released both times.
He was arrested again for allegedly breaking the window at a bodega and walking out with the cash register.
Court records show he was released again and remains free despite several pending cases against him.
Three Restaurant Row eateries were among the businesses hit over the past month, police said.
Lattanzi Ristorante was broken into on March 20.
On April 2, two more restaurants fell victim: La Rivista Broadway Joe Steakhouse, where three iPads worth $200 were swiped, and Brazil Brazil, where two more tablets were taken, according to police.
Hector Vierra, 55, who had been released recently under the state’s bail-reform law, was arrested for the Brazil Brazil caper, cops said.
Officials have said controversial inmate releases are all the more concerning amid the coronavirus outbreak, as burglars have plenty of closed stores to target.
In addition, more than 1,500 inmates have been released from city jails amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus behind bars.
At least 50 of those have already landed back in jail — a little over 3 percent — though some were set free yet again, according to police sources and records.
The pandemic-fueled early releases coupled with bail reform have helped shrink the city’s inmate population to fewer than 4,000 — the lowest since World War II.
The NYPD has made nearly 12,500 fewer arrests over the past four weeks compared to the same period last year.
Additional reporting by Andrew Denney and Craig McCarthy