Auto Thefts Doubled in Downtown’s 1st Precinct YTD
Several other categories of crime are down including robberies, felonious assaults and burglary in the past month, but the overall number of crime incidents over the past 28 days rose 11.03 percent to 151 incidents compared to a year earlier, the NYPD’s compStat reports show. Auto thefts have doubled YTD with reports that 18 cars have been swiped so far this year.
| 01 May 2023 | 06:59
Grand larceny auto thefts are on the rise in the 1st Pct. below Houston St. over the past month. Year to date auto thefts have doubled compared to a year ago. The number of crime incidents in all categories is down slightly YTD, but jumped 11 percent in the past month. Photo: NYPD Precinct Map
Tourism may be up, but in the last month, so is crime in the First Precinct, which covers a downtown area of Manhattan below Houston St.
During the past 28 days ending April 16th, the NYPD’s Compstat figures show an 11.3 percent increase in all crimes rising to 151 incidents in all categories, compared to 136 a year earlier. The most worrisome surge in crime might be the 175 percent increase in grand larceny autos.
There were also three reported rapes in the period, although at least two occured months earlier and apparently were only reported in the most recent stats. All three appeared to involve known assailants, said a police spokesperson, rather than random stranger attacks. There were arrests in two of the cases and an investigation is underway involving a third known suspect.
On Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at approximately 7:05 pm inside of an apartment located in the vicinity of Beekman Street and Gold Street a 20 year-old female victim stated to police that her ex-boyfriend came to visit, they had a verbal dispute, and he shoved her head into a wall, choked her, and then sexually assaulted her. Francis Hymenes, an 18-year-old from 116-21 167th St. in Queens was subsequently arrested and charged with third degree rape and charges related to attempted strangulation.
A second incident that showed up in the past month’s stats actually goes back to an incident on February 2 at around 4 p.m. inside a McDonald’s at 160 Broadway. A 15-year-old female engaged in sexual intercourse with a male who is 25 years old, resulting in her becoming pregnant, police said. Jaleel Spencer of St. Marks Avenue in Brooklyn was arrested and charged with third degree rape.
The third rape charge also goes back several months to its origin on December 27, 2022 in the midnight hour in a residence located within the vicinity of Front Street and Wall Street. A 36-year-old female stated to police that her 32 year-old husband forcibly pinned her down and raped her. Police said there are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.
There were also 11 autos swiped in the past month, compared to only four in the 28 day period a year earlier. Auto thefts are up generally across the city this year. The first precinct has reported 18 cars stolen since the start of the year, double the nine reported a year earlier.
Grand larceny crimes without a car involved rose to 101 incidents in the past year in the past 28 days, compared to 82 a year ago, which is a 23.2 percent jump in that category of crime.