North Shore local police departments show slight rise since 2017

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North Shore local police departments show slight rise since 2017
Local police departments throughout the North Shore reported an increase in major crimes from 2017-2021, according to statistics. (Photo by Janelle Clausen)

The seven local police departments and districts on the North Shore of Nassau County saw an overall increase of violent and property-related crimes from 2017-2021, with a noticeable spike in 2020, according to an analysis conducted by Blank Slate Media.

A total of 205 property and violent crimes were reported throughout the seven local departments in 2017, a number which increased to 222 in 2021, according to the statistics. In 2020, statistics show that 242 major crimes were reported throughout the county, the highest during the five-year analysis.

The seven organizations included in the analysis were the Floral Park Police Department, the Great Neck Estates Police Department, the Kensington Police Department, the Kings Point Police Department, the Lake Success Police Department, the Port Washington Police District and the Sands Point Police Department.

The list of violent crimes includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, while the property crimes were burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft. The statistics were obtained from the state’s Division of Criminal Justice Services.

After the 205 reports in 2017, statistics show a total of 201 major crimes were reported in 2018, followed by 220 in 2019, 242 in 2020 and 222 in 2021.

In 2017, a total of 17 violent crimes were reported by the seven departments, followed by 13 in 2018, 17 in 2019, 20 in 2020 and 17 in 2021, according to statistics.

A total of 188 property crimes were reported in 2017 and 2018, followed by 203 in 2019, 222 in 2020 and 205 in 2021.

The Port Washington Police District, which serves the unincorporated portions of the peninsula, reported the most total crimes out of the seven departments, with more than 530 during the five-year period.

After 97 crimes reported in 2019, according to the statistics, the police district reported 123 the following year, the largest year-to-year increase for any municipality.

Floral Park reported the most violent crimes over the five-year period, with a total of 44.

A majority of Floral Park’s violent crimes came from robberies, with seven reported in 2017, four in 2018 and 2019, and three in 2020 and 2021, according to the statistics.

A total of 31 robberies were reported throughout the local departments during the five-year period.

Port Washington reported the most overall property crimes, with 505 reported over the five-year period. A total of 100 property crimes were reported in 2017, followed by 98 in 2018, 91 in 2019, 115 in 2020 and 101 in 2021, according to the statistics.

A majority of the district’s property crimes came from larcenies, with 445 reported over the five-year span. In total, the departments reported 740 larcenies during the analyzed period.

A total of six rapes, one murder, 46 aggravated assaults, 127 burglaries and 139 motor vehicle thefts were also reported during the five-year stretch, according to the statistics.

Another analysis conducted by Blank Slate Media shows a decrease of more than 10% in major crimes from 2017-2021 but an increase of more than 16% increase in violent crimes.

Statistics show that a total of 14,039 major crimes were committed throughout the county in 2017, compared to 12,535 in 2021.

The biggest year-to-year decrease in major crimes during the five-year analysis was from 2019 to 2020 with a drop of nearly 9% – from 13,387 to 12,244  -during the pandemic-riddled year, according to the statistics.

Though most crimes increased from 2019 to 2020, larceny reports decreased by nearly 15%, from 10,234 to 8,741, helping drive the overall decrease.

Motor vehicle thefts increased nearly 10%, from 639 to 702 from 2019 to 2020. Aggravated assaults increased 13.4% from 1,081 to 1,226 and burglaries increased 12%, from 870 to 975 from 2019 to 2020, according to the statistics.

Both violent and property major crimes increased slightly from 2020 to 2021, according to the statistics.

Major crimes, overall, increased less than 3% in 2021 from 12,244 in 2020. Violent crime increased 5% from 1,826 to 1,917 during this period and property crimes increased less than 2%.

The county’s overall crime report appears to contradict claims that reforms to New York’s bail reform laws had led to an increase in crime, which was a central part of Republicans’ successful countywide campaigns in November 2021.

New York implemented bail reform laws in January 2020, with modifications being passed in April that same year. State officials said the modified laws eliminated pretrial detention and optional cash bail in an estimated 90 percent of cases.

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