TonyO
November 30th, 2004, 01:48 PM
Newsday
GRAND THEFT AUTO
Hot spots for hot cars
Chunks of Queens and the Bronx remain prone to rip-offs even as stolen vehicle rates plummet citywide
BY TOM INCANTALUPO
STAFF WRITER
November 30, 2004
It's 10 p.m.; do you know where your car is?
That depends on where you parked it. If you left it in the Rockaways, it's probably still there. If you left it in Kew Gardens or Whitestone, you'd better go check on it.
While auto theft continues to decline in the city along with most other crimes, a Newsday review of city police data shows that where you live is still a major factor in whether your vehicle gets stolen.
Overall, car theft in the city has fallen again this year, to 16,748 vehicles through Oct. 24, compared with 18,770 in the same period last year, even as the national rate was rising. In the past 11 years, theft has declined by more than 80 percent, the NYPD says.
That said, the Bronx's 43rd Precinct, which includes the Soundview, Parkchester and Castle Hill areas, has the highest number of reported thefts this year through Oct. 24, according to Police Department statistics: 558. While that's down from a year ago and down 12.5 percent from three years ago, it is still a striking contrast to the mere 37 reports in the 100th Precinct in the Rockaways.
The NYPD did not respond to a request for an interview for this article.
Other city precincts with high numbers of auto thefts include the 67th and 70th in central Brooklyn; the 75th, covering East New York; the 102nd in the Kew Gardens-Richmond Hill area of Queens; the 104th, covering Glendale and parts of nearby Queens; the 105th, covering Cambria Heights and parts of eastern Queens; the 114th, including Astoria; and the 109th, covering East Flushing, College Point and Whitestone - the auto theft capital of Queens, with 505.
The gap in theft rates isn't entirely explained by differences in populations. In the Bronx precinct, one car was reported stolen for every 300 residents. In Breezy Point, the rate comes to one theft for 1,177 people.
The big factors behind the big difference: gear and garages. Although cars parked in more affluent neighborhoods tend to be newer and more valuable than those in lower income areas, experts say they also are most likely to have the latest in anti-theft devices, such as engine immobilizer systems designed to prevent a car from being started with anything but a chip-encoded key.
"Especially in higher-end cars, they get really complex and they're very effective," said Robert Edwards, a former auto theft investigator for the Oakland, Calif., police who teaches criminal justice at Champlain College in Burlington, Vt.
Without the most up-to-date antitheft devices, cars also are easier to steal by amateurs for joyrides or for parts, said Kim Hinton, assistant director of the nonprofit National Crime Prevention Council. "We don't know how to get around that," she said, "but it is a factor."
What's more, cars in affluent 100th Precinct neighborhoods such as Belle Harbor are more likely to be garaged. One community in the 100th, Breezy Point, is gated.
"Better quality cars will be better secured," said Robert J. Castelli, a former state trooper who now teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Brooklyn. "In a lower socio-economic area, virtually everybody parks on the street."
Ironically, he notes that many cars targeted by thieves are the ordinary models churned out in vast numbers - and thus have a higher demand for replacement parts because of wear and tear or accidents.
"The fact is," he said, "what's getting stolen are things like Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys because when these cars go to chop shops, they're worth more for their pieces."
Some good news: Newsday's analysis of the NYPD's figures for this year found that auto thefts have risen this year in just 11 of the city's 76 precincts.
The losers include the First Precinct, covering the City Hall area; the 19th, which includes Gracie Manson and the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Manhattan's East Side; the 20th on the Upper East Side, the 25th just north of that; the 32nd, still farther north; the 47th in the northern Bronx; the 49th in the Morris Park-Pelham Parkway area of the Bronx; the 71st in Crown Heights; the 76th in the Redhook-South Brooklyn area; the 90th in Williamsburg; and the 120th in northern Staten Island.
As reported recently by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a not-for-profit group funded by insurance companies, the decline in auto thefts in the city and on Long Island last year happened during an increase in the nation as a whole. Based on population, the city's auto theft rate was low; it ranked 167th of 336 metropolitan areas, with a rate of 297 reports per 100,000 residents.
Where not to park
The 43rd Police Precinct in the Bronx, which includes the Soundview, Parkchester and Castle Hill sections, has the highest number of reported automobile thefts this year, according to a Newsday review of NYPD data, but several Queens neighborhoods, including Flushing-Whitestone (109th Precinct), rank nearly as badly.
Top 10 hot zones
Precincts with the most car theft reports (some major neighborhoods the precincts encompass are given).
PRECINCT THEFTS
43rd (Soundview, Parkchester, Castle Hill) 558
75th (East New York) 512
109th (East Flushing, College Point, Whitestone) 505
114th (Astoria, Jackson Heights) 495
105th (Cambria Heights, eastern Queens) 488
102nd (Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill) 433
67th (central Brooklyn) 432
104th (Glendale, Ridgewood, Middle Village, Maspeth) 427
107th (Fresh Meadows) 391
108th (Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside) 391
NUMBER OF CAR THEFTS
NUMERALS ON MAP DENOTE POLICE PRECINCTS
*Data through Oct. 24
0-100 101-200 201-300 301-400 401123 122 120 52 47
30 33 50 44 45
26 42 34 115 49
32 40 46 108 43
28 41 48 107 45
25 24 111 106 114
25 19 110 113 109
23 13 112 70 104
20 9 103 61 102
17 94 90 105
10 1 83 75
6 88 73 67
7 79 71
5 81 69
84 77 63
76 78 72
100 60 68
100 62
101 66
DATA COMPILED BY TOM INCANTALUPO; MAPPING BY TOM MCGINTY
SOURCE: NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
http://www.newsday.com/media/graphic/2004-11/15271218.gif
GRAND THEFT AUTO
Hot spots for hot cars
Chunks of Queens and the Bronx remain prone to rip-offs even as stolen vehicle rates plummet citywide
BY TOM INCANTALUPO
STAFF WRITER
November 30, 2004
It's 10 p.m.; do you know where your car is?
That depends on where you parked it. If you left it in the Rockaways, it's probably still there. If you left it in Kew Gardens or Whitestone, you'd better go check on it.
While auto theft continues to decline in the city along with most other crimes, a Newsday review of city police data shows that where you live is still a major factor in whether your vehicle gets stolen.
Overall, car theft in the city has fallen again this year, to 16,748 vehicles through Oct. 24, compared with 18,770 in the same period last year, even as the national rate was rising. In the past 11 years, theft has declined by more than 80 percent, the NYPD says.
That said, the Bronx's 43rd Precinct, which includes the Soundview, Parkchester and Castle Hill areas, has the highest number of reported thefts this year through Oct. 24, according to Police Department statistics: 558. While that's down from a year ago and down 12.5 percent from three years ago, it is still a striking contrast to the mere 37 reports in the 100th Precinct in the Rockaways.
The NYPD did not respond to a request for an interview for this article.
Other city precincts with high numbers of auto thefts include the 67th and 70th in central Brooklyn; the 75th, covering East New York; the 102nd in the Kew Gardens-Richmond Hill area of Queens; the 104th, covering Glendale and parts of nearby Queens; the 105th, covering Cambria Heights and parts of eastern Queens; the 114th, including Astoria; and the 109th, covering East Flushing, College Point and Whitestone - the auto theft capital of Queens, with 505.
The gap in theft rates isn't entirely explained by differences in populations. In the Bronx precinct, one car was reported stolen for every 300 residents. In Breezy Point, the rate comes to one theft for 1,177 people.
The big factors behind the big difference: gear and garages. Although cars parked in more affluent neighborhoods tend to be newer and more valuable than those in lower income areas, experts say they also are most likely to have the latest in anti-theft devices, such as engine immobilizer systems designed to prevent a car from being started with anything but a chip-encoded key.
"Especially in higher-end cars, they get really complex and they're very effective," said Robert Edwards, a former auto theft investigator for the Oakland, Calif., police who teaches criminal justice at Champlain College in Burlington, Vt.
Without the most up-to-date antitheft devices, cars also are easier to steal by amateurs for joyrides or for parts, said Kim Hinton, assistant director of the nonprofit National Crime Prevention Council. "We don't know how to get around that," she said, "but it is a factor."
What's more, cars in affluent 100th Precinct neighborhoods such as Belle Harbor are more likely to be garaged. One community in the 100th, Breezy Point, is gated.
"Better quality cars will be better secured," said Robert J. Castelli, a former state trooper who now teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Brooklyn. "In a lower socio-economic area, virtually everybody parks on the street."
Ironically, he notes that many cars targeted by thieves are the ordinary models churned out in vast numbers - and thus have a higher demand for replacement parts because of wear and tear or accidents.
"The fact is," he said, "what's getting stolen are things like Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys because when these cars go to chop shops, they're worth more for their pieces."
Some good news: Newsday's analysis of the NYPD's figures for this year found that auto thefts have risen this year in just 11 of the city's 76 precincts.
The losers include the First Precinct, covering the City Hall area; the 19th, which includes Gracie Manson and the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Manhattan's East Side; the 20th on the Upper East Side, the 25th just north of that; the 32nd, still farther north; the 47th in the northern Bronx; the 49th in the Morris Park-Pelham Parkway area of the Bronx; the 71st in Crown Heights; the 76th in the Redhook-South Brooklyn area; the 90th in Williamsburg; and the 120th in northern Staten Island.
As reported recently by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a not-for-profit group funded by insurance companies, the decline in auto thefts in the city and on Long Island last year happened during an increase in the nation as a whole. Based on population, the city's auto theft rate was low; it ranked 167th of 336 metropolitan areas, with a rate of 297 reports per 100,000 residents.
Where not to park
The 43rd Police Precinct in the Bronx, which includes the Soundview, Parkchester and Castle Hill sections, has the highest number of reported automobile thefts this year, according to a Newsday review of NYPD data, but several Queens neighborhoods, including Flushing-Whitestone (109th Precinct), rank nearly as badly.
Top 10 hot zones
Precincts with the most car theft reports (some major neighborhoods the precincts encompass are given).
PRECINCT THEFTS
43rd (Soundview, Parkchester, Castle Hill) 558
75th (East New York) 512
109th (East Flushing, College Point, Whitestone) 505
114th (Astoria, Jackson Heights) 495
105th (Cambria Heights, eastern Queens) 488
102nd (Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill) 433
67th (central Brooklyn) 432
104th (Glendale, Ridgewood, Middle Village, Maspeth) 427
107th (Fresh Meadows) 391
108th (Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside) 391
NUMBER OF CAR THEFTS
NUMERALS ON MAP DENOTE POLICE PRECINCTS
*Data through Oct. 24
0-100 101-200 201-300 301-400 401123 122 120 52 47
30 33 50 44 45
26 42 34 115 49
32 40 46 108 43
28 41 48 107 45
25 24 111 106 114
25 19 110 113 109
23 13 112 70 104
20 9 103 61 102
17 94 90 105
10 1 83 75
6 88 73 67
7 79 71
5 81 69
84 77 63
76 78 72
100 60 68
100 62
101 66
DATA COMPILED BY TOM INCANTALUPO; MAPPING BY TOM MCGINTY
SOURCE: NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
http://www.newsday.com/media/graphic/2004-11/15271218.gif