Rape, Shooting, Muggings In City Parks Prompt Demands For More Police

(Istolethetv's Flickr)

With recent reports of rapes, shootings, and muggings in city parks, politicians and parks advocates are demanding that the city allocate millions of dollars for increased law enforcement in parks. At a rally at City Hall yesterday, more than a dozen advocates and unionized park enforcement officers called for $10 million in funding to boost park security, the Daily Politics reports. Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, said, "The vast majority of our parks are completely unprotected. The crime is exploding, and we’re asking the question: What is the city going to do about this?"

The City Hall rally came on the heels of a string of sexual assaults in Inwood and Washington Heights; one occurred in a secluded area of Inwood Hill Park on Friday night around 10 p.m. A day earlier, the Brighton Beach boardwalk shooting left one teenage girl dead and four young men injured. (The girl's grief-stricken mother told the Post, "They [are] so worried about someone smoking a cigarette when they should have been looking for guns.") And the Brooklyn Paper reports that "a spate of robberies" in Fort Greene "have turned the idyllic green into a crime den."

There have been at least six robberies in the last three weeks in Fort Greene park, some in broad daylight, and police suspect those damn teenagers to be the perpetrators in most of the crimes. The 88th Precinct's commanding officer optimistically tells Brooklyn Paper, "We think these problems will be alleviated when school gets out." But muggings have continued despite an increased police presence in the park, and one local resident, 25-year-old Jessica McCarthy, says, "It’s alarming that people are being mugged by 13-year-olds. But I’m not sure if more police would make me feel safer."

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By John Del Signore in News on June 16, 2011 10:45 AM

Comments [rss]

asakasan

Maybe, just maybe, they might want to re-allocate some of the gajillion cops strolling the precious High Line.

asakasan

Yes, it's a gajillion, I confirmed that stat w/ the city

erinnyc

One Inwood resident suggested bright orange colored bear spray. I looked it up. It looks effective. Officer, you can't miss him. He's the orange faced guy sobbing woefully!

Bruce Goldensteinberg

Now people want more police, but just wait. A few thugs will get busted then the ACLU will complain about how their "rights" were violated, the cops will back off, and the gangs will prevail.

MermaidFornicator

nobody wants more cops, we want cops to prioritize. preventing gun violence is more important than bicycles.

ONE_LESS_FIXED_GEAR

Exactly. It's a no-win. These people are so confused. They don't want individuals to have guns for personal protection. They don't want cops hassleing individuals for any reason. But they want to feel safe from the criminal element. And they want to be sure their complaints about cops issuing violations of this, that, or the other sort, are heeded (rules are for other people!). Complaints up the as*, but no friggin' answers. WTF?

randomtransplant

The worst part about this city is 6 months after someone gets almost-robbed in a park at 5pm by a gang of youth with limp wristed punches they can't talk about it because the suspect they caught at the time still hasn't had their trial wrapped up.

It allows spokesmen from whichever precinct to spout utter nonsense about how these things are a 'new' occurrence.

bggb

Sorry, all cops are busy ticketing cyclists for running stop signs. First things first.

sarobby

as long as nobody is smoking.

Fronko

Too bad most of the cops who could do something about this are in Central Park ticketing cyclists.

whitecastlerock

Plenty of cops standing around doing nothing but ogling tourists–all under the guise of preventing terrorism.

Marc Hug

that, or standing on the steps of the bedford nostrand G stop looking for people doubling up. does it really take 4 cops to do that?

BottomlessChips

How about letting private citizens defend themselves with weapons?

MermaidFornicator

we already have that, it resulted in a shooting at the coney island boardwalk.

Spirit of 76

But the Wild West was fun! And everyone knows that criminals wouldn't dare commit a crime when the intended victim has a gun. Any cop-killer will tell you how much of a deterrent the cop's gun was. Or ask any soldier who has ever taken fire from the enemy despite being armed to the teeth.