As the spring thaw sets upon us, and people can return to enjoying the outdoors, we can rely on two things that are sure to increase and potentially ruin your day: mosquitoes and criminals. Although about $5 can buy repellent for the former, the latter can only be repelled with good police work coupled with the common sense and awareness of the everyday civilian. On its end, the RCSP has been working closely with the NYPD to help prepare for the summer menace. The RCSP is bringing awareness of its activities to the community so the spring and summer months can be mosquito- and criminal-free.

Over the past couple of months, the RCSP responded to numerous burglaries, of which a few directly affected Far Rockaway shuls. In most cases, the close working relationship between the NYPD and the RCSP led to arrests. This was only made possible through the alertness of members of the community, who immediately called 911 and the RCSP 24-Hour Emergency Hotline with a clear description of the perpetrators. The members of the RCSP canvass the area in search of the criminals while the RCSP Video Surveillance Team accesses video footage (if available) for additional clues (such as a clean shots, stolen items, direction of flight, etc.). The valuable information is then relayed to the cell phones of the responding RCSP members who work side by side with the NYPD until the perpetrators are identified and arrested. Unfortunately, in too many instances, the perpetrators get away due to the community’s lack of knowledge of what to do. Knowing that the RCSP is here to help is the first step in crime prevention. Even the suspicion of a crime can lead to valuable information in preventing it and apprehending the criminals. Whether you are home, in shul, shopping, or walking in the street, if you see something, say something and immediately calling 911 followed by a call to the RCSP’s 24-Hour Hotline.

In addition, if you fall victim to any crime, it is critical that you file a police report immediately. Numerous arrests are made due to the abundance of evidence from various crime scenes as well as trends and patterns the criminals reveal. In a recent case, the RCSP was able to recover a stolen vehicle and assist the NYPD in finding and arresting a perpetrator who had been breaking into cars for years, smashing windows. Now that this criminal is behind bars and faces a 10-year sentence, car break-ins via smashed windows have been reduced dramatically. Call the RCSP as well to assist in filing a police report if you’re unsure about the process. It is only through a police report that an arrest can be made, as a perpetrator cannot be charged with a crime if no official complaint was filed against him.

Due to the increase in bicycle thefts over the summer, the RCSP and the NYPD will be hosting a free bike-etching event at the Annual Yeshivah Darchei Torah Bike-a-Thon, which will be held on June 1, between 2 and 5 p.m. Every bike will be etched with a unique serial number that will be filed with the 101st Police Precinct. Last summer alone, the RCSP recovered over 20 stolen and unetched bikes which could not be returned to their rightful owners. We encourage everyone to take full advantage of this free program.

As we go into the warmer months, we would like to recognize the dedicated members and families of the RCSP for contributing their time and resources to the community. Additionally we would like to thank Deputy Inspector William Patrick Wynne, commanding officer of the 101st Precinct for all his help in making Far Rockaway a safer place. Finally, thanks go out to the Nassau County Police Department for their strong presence and professionalism in handling all criminal and civil matters pertaining to our community.

The RCSP 24-Hour Hotline is 917-RCSP-306 917-727-7306. Anyone interested in receiving the weekly security alerts from the RCSP should send an email to securityalerts@rockawaypatrol.org and enter the phrase “Sign me up” in the Subject field. v

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here