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Early yesterday morning, we ran an account of a mugging that occurred on Tenth Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues that occurred when a man followed someone from the Seventh Avenue station to his door. More about that in moment, but we checked on the 78th Precinct’s latest crime statistics and found there’s been no increase in muggings over last year and that, in fact, reported incidents are down slightly from 2007 so far.
Back to the 10th Street mugging, however, in which the criminal practically forced his way into the victim’s home. A follow up email on the Park Slope Parents Group that came our way indicated that at least one person recalled seeing the mugger in the Seventh Avenue station. She wrote that she was near the 8th Ave entrance of the station at about 6:30PM when “a tall, thin black man with orange pants was hanging around the turnstiles.” While she was buying a Metrocard, she says that he asked her if she was buying a single ride and that she assumed it was because he wanted to do a “pay & swipe” with her. The encounter seems to have occurred shortly before the mugging. “It wouldn’t have occurred to me to notify anyone, he seemed young and harmless, though I guess I might have thought otherwise if it was late at night,” she says. “Very disturbing!”
The map above is an interactive “mugging map” that has been created and posted to Google Maps. Click here to go to the map itself and we’ve placed a frame of the clickable map below. The map was created by someone at the Prospect Heights Forum and was also posted by Brownstoner this week.
The 78th Precinct is said to be aware of “a spike” in crime and has added foot patrols, however, a look at Compstat for the Precinct through Febuary 3 shows no statistical increase in reported robberies whatsoever. There were three reported robberies during the week of 1/28-2/3 versus two for the same week in 2007. Overall, there have been 13 reported robberies so far in 2008 versus 15 for the same period in 2007, which is actually a 13.3 percent decrease.The 78th Precinct Community Council meeting will be held on February 26 at 7:30PM at the precinct station house, which is located at 5 6th Avenue.
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4 responses so far ↓
1 Anonymous // Feb 9, 2008 at 11:29 am
All the muggings I personally know of in Park Slope (my husband, two neighbors) during the few years we lived there, were committed by people who followed the victim home to their front door. So DO be watchful if you feel creeped out by someone behind you, or you feel they’re following you. Don’t feel guilty about it. Trust your instincts. Stop in a deli store or bar or restaurant and stay at least 20 minutes before moving on again home.
2 Anonymous // Feb 9, 2008 at 12:32 pm
These statistics really aren’t helpful, because many, many, people who have been mugged have concluded that reporting the crime is more trouble than it’s worth. (I don’t agree, by the way, but I’ve heard this often enough to not trust the NYPD’s numbers).
3 Anonymous // Feb 9, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Wow – that’s interesting and creepy about the followed-home robberies.
The map and the police reporting don’t have complete overlap – and frankly, not every crime reported to the NYPD would make it directly into the NYPD stats.
I hope people contribute to this community map, in addition to calling the cops. I learned about some things that happened on my block!
The thread on Brooklynian to talk about this map, or if you have a question about how to add to it, is
http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=414648#414648
4 Anonymous // Feb 11, 2008 at 4:21 am
im an x cop and its for a reason,
THE NYPD FLUFFS THEIR NUMBERS SO THAT THEIR COMMAND SEEMS TO BE DOING A GREAT JOB, ITS THE CAPTAINS AND THE LIEUTENANTS THAT PULL THIS BULLSHIT!!.. FROM THE RANK OF CAPTAIN YOU MUST BE PROMOTED THERE ARE NO MORE TESTS THAT CAN BE TAKEN, THERFORE THEY LIE ON THEIR 61’S (POLICE REPORTS)and those of you that read this know i know what im talking about!!.. THEY LIE SO THAT THEY CAN GET PROMOTED TO DEPUTY INSPECTOR INSPECTOR AND THE REST OF THE POLITICAL BULLSHIT… THE DEPT. IS NOTHING BUT FULL OF KISS ASSES AND POLITICS.. THATS WHY I LEFT… FOR EXAMPLE A MUGGING WOULD BE DOWNPLAYED AND THE BOSSES WOULD MAKE YOU DO A REPORT FOR LOST PROPERTY