Sunday, December 19, 2010
Police Give Tips for a Crime-Free Holiday by Stephen Geffon - Queens Chronicle
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Capt. Thomas Pascale, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, told members of the Precinct Community Council at its meeting last week in Ozone Park that 30 percent of the reported car thefts in the 106th occurred when owners left their keys in the car.
Leaving your car keys in your vehicle will almost certainly spoil your holiday, as one unlucky motorist found out last week when three perpetrators stole her car. Luckily for the owner, police recovered the vehicle a week later.
Notwithstanding that happy ending, many other car owners were not so lucky.
He said last week’s car theft could have easily been prevented had the owner not left the keys in the vehicle. Pascale urged residents not to leave their keys, as well as purses, wallets, packages and other valuables in plain view in their cars when they go shopping. He suggested putting items such as these in the trunk.
Precinct Conditions Unit Supervisor Sgt. Donna Nugent reported that in response to residents’ complaints of cars speeding on Crossbay Boulevard and Pitkin Avenue, police had conducted targeted enforcement in the area, setting up checkpoints and giving out summonses. She noted that one arrest was also made at a checkpoint, but did not specify the charge.
Nugent further said the park at PS 232 in Lindenwood is receiving additional police attention. She said officers now patrol the park with their car’s turret lights on when in that area, and they go into the park on foot and issue tickets to individuals found to be there after closing time.
In other news from the meeting, a Howard Beach resident reported that several manhole covers in the area are missing and presumed stolen for the value of the metal. She said the locations were near PS 207, at 158th Avenue and 87th Street and 88th Street and 158th Avenue.
“I’m afraid someone’s going to fall in,” said the resident.
A coordinator of the after school program at JHS 226 on Rockaway Boulevard in South Ozone Park advised Pascale that youngsters under 15 years old are wandering the street during school hours. The captain said he would notify the precinct’s truancy officers.
The 106th Precinct Community Council meets on the second Wednesday of the month, except for August and February, at the precinct station house, located at 103-51 101 St. in Ozone Park.