Suffolk Crime Rates Down For First Quarter Of 2017

Suffolk Police announced earlier this week that crime rates have decreased by a total of 7.2 percent for the first quarter of 2017.

This quarter's crime rates are even lower than the crime levels for first quarter of 2016, which had the lowest recorded crime rates in recorded history for the department.

According to police, violent crime is down 24.9 percent and property crime has decreased by 5.6 percent.

In addition, the number of robberies, burglaries, larcenies, aggravated assaults and murders are also lower than they were during this time period last year.

There have been 60 percent less murders, 40.5 percent less robberies, 5.4 percent less aggravated assaults, 10 percent less burglaries and 6 percent less larcenies so far this quarter, according to Police Commissioner Timothy Sini who announced the results at a press conference on Wednesday.

Police say this is due to innovative crime-fighting strategies, including intelligence-led policing and community policing, and the tireless hard work of the men and women of the Suffolk County Police Department.

A big reason for the decrease in crime rates is the recent crackdown on the MS-13 gang following the death of two Brentwood girls who were brutally murdered by gang members in September.

Earlier this month, a total of 13 gang members were charged in a 41-count indictment in connection to seven murders in Brentwood,

"We're targeting the right people, we're targeting the right spots and we're collaborating with the community to solve problems," Sini said.

The gang activity was a major factor in the increase of homicides last year form 36 compared to 25 in 2015.

According to Sini, the biggest challenge for local police is opiate epidemic with 54 drug-related search warrants executed in 2017 compared to 30 in the first quarter of 2016.

Despite the decrease, his year, there was an increase in car thefts. This quarter there were 193 reported car thefts compared to 178 last year.

Image via Shutterstock