
Deputy Inspector Steven Hellman at the recent community council meeting (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)
By Maria Rocha-Buschel
Robbery and burglary are up in the neighborhood, Deputy Inspector Steven Hellman reported at the 13th precinct’s monthly Community Council meeting this past Tuesday. Both crimes are up by 50% in the last 28 day period, Hellman said, with a citywide bank robbery pattern contributing to the increase in the number of robberies for the precinct.
Robberies have been an issue for the precinct for the last few months as well, particularly ones committed by teenagers who live at the Administration for Children’s Services facility on First Avenue just north of Bellevue, but Hellman said that none of the robberies from the last few weeks have been attributed to ACS kids. Three teens have been arrested in the last month for robberies out of 21 incidents, Hellman specified, but none of them live at the ACS facility.
Hellman said that there are currently three patterns that are affecting the increase in robberies and burglaries for the precinct. One is attributed to a bank robbery pattern in which a man who doesn’t have a weapon passes a note to tellers and demands cash. Hellman said that the pattern is citywide, with four of the incidents occurring in the 13th precinct.