Ben Golden
April 14, 2008
500 word story
Hempstead Continues Fight against High Crime
For years, the village of Hempstead, N.Y. has been given the reputation of being a high crime area. Just last year there were over 2600 total offenses that occurred ranging from murder to rape to even prostitution. With projections for this year expected to come close to 2500 offenses, it is an improvement but is it enough for the residents of Hempstead to feel safe?
According to both Hempstead Mayor Wayne Hall and Police Chief Joe Wing, crime has been steadily decreasing in the area for the better part of the last decade. “I believe the overall crime for 2007 dropped about nine percent from 2006,” said Wing, “So even though some might say that the crime is high, comparatively speaking, its been dropping. We’re looking to have that number decrease, to increase our efforts and to continue the decline of crime.” The drop in crime should be assurance for residents however Mayor Hall warns that not all the crimes are dropping. “The one thing that has not gone down is the violent crime and when I say violent crime I mean assaults and things like that.” Another problem that the police department faces is that only 1 out of every 3 offenses are cleared, or caught. As you can see in the graphs below, the ratio of offenses to those cleared are quite noticeable.
2007 Totals (Offenses vs. Cleared)
2008 Totals (January and February)
There is good news for the future though. With the addition of new police officers both Wing and Hall expect crime numbers will keep dropping. With the police force totaling 115 officers with 5 more expected to join, the department is trying to attack crime aggressively. Their biggest targets will be the illegal drug business and theft. In 2007, the total monetary value for damages to residents, vehicles, etc. surpassed $2.1 million dollars. “Unfortunately a lot of people will pull up to a 7/11, leave their car running, run in thinking they’re going to get a cup of coffee and come out and their car is gone.” said Wing. Concerning the drug problem, police have been able to isolate a majority of the drug incidents to the areas around Terrace Avenue and Bedell Street. While this is not to say drug incidents do not occur elsewhere, they have targeted these two streets as being high drug areas. An initiative has been put into place at the beginning of this year to begin undercover operations where officers pretend to be drug dealers and then apprehend approaching buyers. “Our undercover operations have been quite successful.” said Wing.
With its high population and surrounding smaller towns, it is unlikely that Hempstead will have low crime rates but as Chief Wing said, the numbers are steadily improving. Mayor Hall put it best saying, “Just because we are predominantly minorities here that does not mean we can’t have a nice community where everybody could walk through the community and feel safe, so that’s what I’m working on.”
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
CRIME RATES IN VILLAGE OF HEMPSTEAD 1/1/2007 to 2/29/08
Type of Crime
Offenses
Cleared
Efficiency Rate
1/1/2008-2/29/2008
Murder/Man-Slaughter
3
0
Rape
2
1
Robbery
21
3
Assault
12
5
Burglary
27
0
Larceny-Theft
72
10
Motor Vehicle Theft
42
15
Arson
3
1
Controlled Substances
23
23
Sex Offenses
3
2
Prostitution
12
12
Stolen Propoerty
7
7
Criminal Mischief
87
7
Fraud
11
4
Simple Assault
31
19
DUI
9
9
Disorderly Conduct
17
17
All Other Offenses
29
15
TOTALS
411
150
36.49%
PROJECTED TOTALS 2008
2466
900
36.49%
TOTAL MONETARY VALUE
$331,020
Type of Crime
Offenses
Cleared
Efficiency Rate
1/1/2007-12/31/2007
Murder/Man-Slaughter
7
3
Rape
12
0
Robbery
138
25
Assault
173
73
Burglary
193
33
Larceny-Theft
500
105
Motor Vehicle Theft
217
28
Arson
6
0
Controlled Substances
176
169
Sex Offenses
23
9
Forgery and Counterfeiting
33
11
Prostitution
1
1
Criminal Mischief
565
61
Fraud
46
9
Simple Assault
184
110
DUI
45
43
Disorderly Conduct
82
80
Dangerous Weapons
15
15
All Other Offenses
190
94
TOTALS
2606
869
33.46%
TOTAL MONETARY VALUE
$2,165,765
Difference 2007-2008: Down 5.54%
Type of Crime
Offenses
Cleared
Efficiency Rate
1/1/2008-2/29/2008
Murder/Man-Slaughter
3
0
Rape
2
1
Robbery
21
3
Assault
12
5
Burglary
27
0
Larceny-Theft
72
10
Motor Vehicle Theft
42
15
Arson
3
1
Controlled Substances
23
23
Sex Offenses
3
2
Prostitution
12
12
Stolen Propoerty
7
7
Criminal Mischief
87
7
Fraud
11
4
Simple Assault
31
19
DUI
9
9
Disorderly Conduct
17
17
All Other Offenses
29
15
TOTALS
411
150
36.49%
PROJECTED TOTALS 2008
2466
900
36.49%
TOTAL MONETARY VALUE
$331,020
Type of Crime
Offenses
Cleared
Efficiency Rate
1/1/2007-12/31/2007
Murder/Man-Slaughter
7
3
Rape
12
0
Robbery
138
25
Assault
173
73
Burglary
193
33
Larceny-Theft
500
105
Motor Vehicle Theft
217
28
Arson
6
0
Controlled Substances
176
169
Sex Offenses
23
9
Forgery and Counterfeiting
33
11
Prostitution
1
1
Criminal Mischief
565
61
Fraud
46
9
Simple Assault
184
110
DUI
45
43
Disorderly Conduct
82
80
Dangerous Weapons
15
15
All Other Offenses
190
94
TOTALS
2606
869
33.46%
TOTAL MONETARY VALUE
$2,165,765
Difference 2007-2008: Down 5.54%
Monday, April 14, 2008
Transcription of Interview with Hempstead Mayor Wayne Hall
BG = Ben Golden
WH = Wayne Hall
Shot by Ken McCarron
BG (:00): This Terrace Avenue, they are given a second chance?
WH (:04): Yeah, the program is initiated by the D.A. and back this January. What happens is they pick seventeen drug dealers that were out on the streets dealing drugs and were caught on camera, on videotapes, they had the evidence right there and they sent them letters saying we know what you are doing; we want you to come to this meeting. If you come to this meeting, you won’t get arrested and out of the seventeen I think twelve of them came and at the meeting the D.A. told them we got you but we aren’t going to arrest you as long as you can go straight and I think what happened maybe two or three of them faltered and so now they are in jail and the others are out. I gave one of them a job here and she has been working now for about two weeks, this is her second week and she has been doing a good job so hopefully the program works but we’re still going to do our part in patrolling it. Patrolling Terrace Avenue we even got plate readers where we can read the car’s license plate so we know immediately where they live and say for instance you came over there and someone says hey what are you doing there, and read your license plate and send you a letter especially if you do not own the car and send it to that person. It may be in your parents name and we send it and it says you have been seen in the high crime high drug area and if you’re not there to buy illegal drugs, whatever the letter said, I think that has been a deterrent right there but the problem is to get the guns off the street because a lot of guns are being imported from Virginia. A lot of young people, I think the highest death rate for African American males is homicide and I also think that in the Hispanic community too. Guns for the African Americans to kill each other and knives over in the Hispanic community but I think initiatives and the addition of new police officers I think that you know they are trying to be more proactive than reactive and going after the crime. (2:52)
BG (2:53): Is there any one part, one area of crime that you see overwhelmingly over the others like is it homicide is it assault is it vandalism? Have you seen one area more than anything else? (3:07)
WH (3:08): Well I think with crime, I mean overall since last year, talking until up to last year, the crime rate has gone down about 9% overall, all crimes and everything but the one thing that has not gone down is the violent crime and when I say violent crime I mean assaults and things like that. I think rapes went down and so forth. But the violent crime, like I said, with the addition of the new police officers that may help but a lot of the violent crimes are domestic too things that happen inside houses and so forth so that is kind of difficult to control. But my goal is to change the image of what everybody thinks of Hempstead and I know that it can be a better place. Just because we are predominantly minorities here that does not mean we can’t have a nice community where everybody could walk through the community and feel safe so that’s what I’m working on. (4:16)
BG (4:17): Well thank you very much. (4:19)
WH = Wayne Hall
Shot by Ken McCarron
BG (:00): This Terrace Avenue, they are given a second chance?
WH (:04): Yeah, the program is initiated by the D.A. and back this January. What happens is they pick seventeen drug dealers that were out on the streets dealing drugs and were caught on camera, on videotapes, they had the evidence right there and they sent them letters saying we know what you are doing; we want you to come to this meeting. If you come to this meeting, you won’t get arrested and out of the seventeen I think twelve of them came and at the meeting the D.A. told them we got you but we aren’t going to arrest you as long as you can go straight and I think what happened maybe two or three of them faltered and so now they are in jail and the others are out. I gave one of them a job here and she has been working now for about two weeks, this is her second week and she has been doing a good job so hopefully the program works but we’re still going to do our part in patrolling it. Patrolling Terrace Avenue we even got plate readers where we can read the car’s license plate so we know immediately where they live and say for instance you came over there and someone says hey what are you doing there, and read your license plate and send you a letter especially if you do not own the car and send it to that person. It may be in your parents name and we send it and it says you have been seen in the high crime high drug area and if you’re not there to buy illegal drugs, whatever the letter said, I think that has been a deterrent right there but the problem is to get the guns off the street because a lot of guns are being imported from Virginia. A lot of young people, I think the highest death rate for African American males is homicide and I also think that in the Hispanic community too. Guns for the African Americans to kill each other and knives over in the Hispanic community but I think initiatives and the addition of new police officers I think that you know they are trying to be more proactive than reactive and going after the crime. (2:52)
BG (2:53): Is there any one part, one area of crime that you see overwhelmingly over the others like is it homicide is it assault is it vandalism? Have you seen one area more than anything else? (3:07)
WH (3:08): Well I think with crime, I mean overall since last year, talking until up to last year, the crime rate has gone down about 9% overall, all crimes and everything but the one thing that has not gone down is the violent crime and when I say violent crime I mean assaults and things like that. I think rapes went down and so forth. But the violent crime, like I said, with the addition of the new police officers that may help but a lot of the violent crimes are domestic too things that happen inside houses and so forth so that is kind of difficult to control. But my goal is to change the image of what everybody thinks of Hempstead and I know that it can be a better place. Just because we are predominantly minorities here that does not mean we can’t have a nice community where everybody could walk through the community and feel safe so that’s what I’m working on. (4:16)
BG (4:17): Well thank you very much. (4:19)
Transcription of Interview with Hempstead Police Chief Joe Wing
TRANSCRIPTION: JOE WING
BG = Ben Golden
JW = Joe Wing
RF = Rich Forestano (Partner)
BG (:03): Hempstead has been given the reputation for being a high crime area for years, at least compared to surrounding areas. What is the one area you believe is the biggest contributor to these numbers and what is being done to decrease them? (:15)
JW (:17): There’s a lot of factors that contribute to high crime rate. What we’re doing in the Hempstead Police Department to help drive that crime rate down is we recently hired nine police officers and we’re going to hire five more. We’re going to attempt to figuratively flood the streets with additional police officers. We believe that police presence goes a long way in reducing crime as well as enforcing a lot of quality of life issues that come up. The people that drink on the sidewalk or some of the things that people would consider to be minor really aren’t that minor. They detract from neighborhoods. So if we can address a lot of those issues, we expect our crime rate to come down even further. (1:15)
RF (2:06): From my own observations, Terrace Avenue is a very high crime ridden area and there has been recent stories in Newsday about it, are there any special concentrations of police in that area or like any special techniques you are using to combat crime? (2:20)
JW (2:21): We actually are. January 8th, we started the Terrace-Bedell initiative when the Hempstead Police Department partnered with the Nassau County District Attorney’s office. Kathleen Rice is the District Attorney. We brought in a program specifically designed to reduce crime on Terrace Avenue and Bedell Street. What it does, one small piece of it is, we took about fourteen individuals and we gave them an opportunity not to be arrested as long as they agreed not to engage in criminal activity. We also, in an effort to help them, offered them educational services, resume writing services, if they needed social services. Whatever their needs were, we wanted to make sure those were met in an effort so that they could stay out of criminal activity. But that was really just a small piece of it. The major portion of it is the partnership we formed with residents in the area, with business people in the area, with local clergy from the area. The relationships we’re forming at the police office, that we’re forming with the residents and these other groups are going a long way and have gone a long way in just a year in the short months that we’ve done this. If you go to Terrace Avenue now there is a marked difference between what it was and what it is today and you can speak to some of the residents and they’ll tell you that they’re feelings of safety and security have grown exponentially compared to the way it was before January 8th. So we think that the program is working. Statistically it is a little early to come out and say that it’s been a success statistically but the softer side of it is that the residents feel that successful, that they’re feeling safer, that they are enjoying their relationships with their police department. Things like that are hard to quantify but yet they’re very important when it comes to community relations and how crime is being handled. (4:38)
BG (4:40): According to the most recent crime reports actually that Detective Durnan gave to me, the total offenses for 2007 were just above 2600 and with the projected totals, I only have the first two months of this year but I projected it out, they’re going to be about 2400 you’re on pace to be. With numbers so high what words of reassurance would you have for the residents of Hempstead to feel safe? (5:05)
PART 2
JW (0:01): As far as our crime numbers historically over the last ten or fifteen years our overall uniform crime reports are crime that’s reported to the F.B.I. has been dropping steadily and I believe 2007 was no exception. As a matter of fact, I believe the overall crime for 2007 dropped about nine percent from 2006. So even though some might say that the crime is high, comparatively speaking, its been dropping we’re looking to have that number decrease, to increase our efforts and to continue the decline of crime. (0:52)
BG (0:53): Did you want to ask one?
RF (0:56): What were the most common offenses you’ve seen being perpetrated on Terrace Avenue?
JW (1:01): Historically, Terrace Avenue has seen a lot of drug offense activity and unfortunately the ancillary crime that goes along with the drug business. Whether it be assaults, whether it be robberies. So in that effort, that’s why we started the Terrance-Bedell initiative we’re looking to dry up the open-air drug market and as a side effect we do see overall crime. (1:40)
RF (1:41): I read somewhere that the Terrace-Bedell initiative would use surveillance equipment to catch people in the act of selling or doing drugs. What success has come of that? (1:55)
JW (1:57): Our undercover operations have been quite successful. We perform undercover operations where we are looking for sellers of narcotics and or marijuana. We make multiple arrests, we execute search warrants, and authorize with the courts. We frequently, when we execute these warrants, come up with weapons. As a matter of fact, just this morning we executed a search warrant on Bedell Street where we came up with a loaded nine millimeter handgun. So we know that there are still people involved in the drug business in the area. It has pretty much dried up on the streets but we’re now attacking it where it has moved to which is inside the apartments. As far as some of the other crimes and other undercover operations as we are concerned, we’ve also performed reverses where we’ve gone after the buyers which are the other half of the drug equation. We do this for multiple reasons, one is that economics show that if we can drive the man down we can affect the supply side so if we can drive customers away theoretically there won’t be as many dealers on the street and all the ancillary crimes would be reduced exponentially. The way we do that is we have undercover officers on the street selling what looks to be crack-cocaine purchasers come up and they get arrested and they’re charged with attempted criminal possession which is a misdemeanor and a felony of the state. It is a valuable tool and we use it quite frequently. We also use some high tech equipment such as the license plate scanner, a license plate reader, where by we scan all the license plates that come down the block and typically it is used to look for stolen vehicles or vehicles whose registrations have been suspended or revoked. What we’ve done is we have actually looked for vehicles whose license registrations don’t come back to the village of Hempstead, the zip code is not 11550. Those individuals have received a personal letter from me that their vehicle was seen on Terrace Avenue and or Bedell Street during an undercover narcotics investigation. If the occupants were not engaged in any illegal activity and were here for legitimate purposes than they should disregard the letter. If they were not aware that their vehicle was here in the village of Hempstead on Terrace or Bedell Street they might want to give us a call and we can speak to them about it or they might want to inquire of the person who was using the car or where the car was or why their vehicle was on Terrace Avenue or Bedell Street and we do that strategic operation. We do pick late night hours or early morning hours when we know the likelihood of someone there that’s coming down the block that may be engaged in illegal activities or may want to participate in illegal activities. It’s designed to weed out the legitimate visitor. So we sent an excess of eighty letters out and like I said, I urged anyone who had any questions to call me personally and to date I haven’t received any phone calls. You can deduct what you like from that. (5:47)
BG (5:50): Again, I’ll try not to make this too numberish. I noticed only 33% of all these offenses were cleared, its hard obviously to catch all the offenders, but are these numbers alarmingly low or are they not that unusual to have about 30-40% of these offenses cleared? (6:13)
JW (6:14): Again, it really depends on which offenses were speaking of a lot of the offenses are, such as grand larceny, thefts from particular stores. If the store doesn’t have a surveillance camera there’s not much physical evidence for us to follow up on. If there are no witnesses it makes it very difficult. If we are looking at homicides our success rate jumps dramatically. So it really depends on what crime categorically we are looking at and how those numbers are compiled that also may not factor in warrants that may have been applied for and that’s why the case is still open. It does not factor in that we also use Nassau County who assist us on closing cases they might be found by following up on leads so while our case is still open, they might be close to closing out a case so those numbers are subject to change. (7:21)
BG (7:24): Are there any new programs being put into place to help keep the streets safe? I know you mentioned the license plate readers but other than that is there really anything coming about? (7:36)
JW (7:37): We have hired the new officers who are going to enforce a lot of quality of life issues as well as criminal activity. We also recently started a truck enforcement program which really deals with traffic safety, vehicular and pedestrian safety. A lot of vehicles that travel the roads in not only Hempstead but Nassau County could be unsafe whether it is because the load they are carrying is too heavy for the vehicle to have or whether it be defective brakes. Safety equipment is not on the vehicle. We have started a very aggressive campaign to crack down on that. We hope that it will increase the safety on our residents and the people who come to visit the village of Hempstead. We have an east end patrol that some of the license premises, the bars on the east end, they will quite frequently see where the bar patrons a lot of the patrons are under aged and sometimes they will find a way to get alcohol. So we are aggressively looking at that as well as our DWI program that is focused on that area and we also look at forgeries. A lot of times young people don’t realize that when they have fake ID, “fake ID”, what they have is actually a forged document and that is a felony in the state of New York. So we have some college students have altered their license or purchased an altered license over the internet or from somebody on campus or a friend of a friend and they show up at a bar and attempt to use it and we come in and do our operation and there they are with a forged instrument. So the charge of possession of a forged instrument is a felony and the unfortunate thing is that no one is thinking these things through, no one is thinking if they get caught I will get this felony and I will have to go to court but I got a criminal history how will it affect my life, so young people really need to think about that and play out those steps and really weigh the risks against the benefits of using that method of gaining alcohol. (10:16)
BG (10:17): So how many total police officers are on the staff right now? (10:22)
JW (10:23): Our force is comprised of 115 officers; we are looking to hire 5 more. Our personnel is roughly 50% African American. Our officers at one time or another lived in the village of Hempstead, are residents of Hempstead, or have strong connections to the village which is sometimes a very good thing because they care about the village and they know a lot of the residents and a lot of the hard working people that reside here (10:57)
RF (11:00): I was recently watching television and I saw a policeman using a “smart car” where they leave it there for criminals who hijack cars and they control it through remote controls and shut down the car and catch them in the act with a camera built in the dashboard. Has Hempstead ever thought of doing something like that? (11:23)
JW (11:24): We have discussed, we discussed it with other jurisdictions and there is always that possibility that we might implement that in the village of Hempstead if not directly through another agency and that is geared towards people that steal cars obviously. The only thing I can say towards that is that unfortunately that exists because a lot of people will pull up to a 7/11, leave their car running, run in thinking they’re going to get a cup of coffee and come out and their car is gone so the vehicle you described is usually used if its left after pulling up to a spot and somebody decides to jump in and start the vehicle and take off with it they are usually pretty quickly apprehended. (12:19)
BG (12:23): Are there any precautions or safety tips that residents can follow to avoid becoming a victim? Do you have any extra tips besides the obvious? (12:31)JW (12:32): Well the obvious ones are always good to state. Try and travel in pairs, try and avoid dark streets. If you are a homeowner or if you rent try not to have obstructions near the doorway like high bushes or things like that, try to trim them back it is very effective. If your house is lit up or your area is lit up, criminals tend to go to someplace else. Not that you wish anything bad upon your neighbors but the idea is not to become a crime victim so you need to do a lot of things to protect yourself. Crime is usually an opportunity of theft so anything you can do to deter theft, scratching your name into your laptop keeping an eye on your laptop not leaving it laying around, not leaving your ipod around out and walking away thinking I am just going to the men’s room I will be right back to my desk and of course it is gone. So people need to be vigilant and yet maybe not so vigilant that they become paranoid and lock themselves up. They just need to exercise common sense, if they are going to go out in the evening have a plan, know who you are going with know who you are coming home with. If you know you are going to perhaps have a drink or two you might want to go designate a driver. If you are a Hofstra student, I believe Hofstra security and Hofstra transportation will come out and get you if not, you know what, 4 dollars for a cab is often money well spent. Especially if it is 2 or 3 people it is a dollar a piece and it’s a small price, get back to your dorm and everyone is safe and sound everybody stays together and like I said what areas you are not sure and listen to that sixth sense so to speak if you think something is not right here things do not feel right. Move, get away, something is telling you that something is not right so listen to that inner voice and try not to be a victim. (14:56)
BG = Ben Golden
JW = Joe Wing
RF = Rich Forestano (Partner)
BG (:03): Hempstead has been given the reputation for being a high crime area for years, at least compared to surrounding areas. What is the one area you believe is the biggest contributor to these numbers and what is being done to decrease them? (:15)
JW (:17): There’s a lot of factors that contribute to high crime rate. What we’re doing in the Hempstead Police Department to help drive that crime rate down is we recently hired nine police officers and we’re going to hire five more. We’re going to attempt to figuratively flood the streets with additional police officers. We believe that police presence goes a long way in reducing crime as well as enforcing a lot of quality of life issues that come up. The people that drink on the sidewalk or some of the things that people would consider to be minor really aren’t that minor. They detract from neighborhoods. So if we can address a lot of those issues, we expect our crime rate to come down even further. (1:15)
RF (2:06): From my own observations, Terrace Avenue is a very high crime ridden area and there has been recent stories in Newsday about it, are there any special concentrations of police in that area or like any special techniques you are using to combat crime? (2:20)
JW (2:21): We actually are. January 8th, we started the Terrace-Bedell initiative when the Hempstead Police Department partnered with the Nassau County District Attorney’s office. Kathleen Rice is the District Attorney. We brought in a program specifically designed to reduce crime on Terrace Avenue and Bedell Street. What it does, one small piece of it is, we took about fourteen individuals and we gave them an opportunity not to be arrested as long as they agreed not to engage in criminal activity. We also, in an effort to help them, offered them educational services, resume writing services, if they needed social services. Whatever their needs were, we wanted to make sure those were met in an effort so that they could stay out of criminal activity. But that was really just a small piece of it. The major portion of it is the partnership we formed with residents in the area, with business people in the area, with local clergy from the area. The relationships we’re forming at the police office, that we’re forming with the residents and these other groups are going a long way and have gone a long way in just a year in the short months that we’ve done this. If you go to Terrace Avenue now there is a marked difference between what it was and what it is today and you can speak to some of the residents and they’ll tell you that they’re feelings of safety and security have grown exponentially compared to the way it was before January 8th. So we think that the program is working. Statistically it is a little early to come out and say that it’s been a success statistically but the softer side of it is that the residents feel that successful, that they’re feeling safer, that they are enjoying their relationships with their police department. Things like that are hard to quantify but yet they’re very important when it comes to community relations and how crime is being handled. (4:38)
BG (4:40): According to the most recent crime reports actually that Detective Durnan gave to me, the total offenses for 2007 were just above 2600 and with the projected totals, I only have the first two months of this year but I projected it out, they’re going to be about 2400 you’re on pace to be. With numbers so high what words of reassurance would you have for the residents of Hempstead to feel safe? (5:05)
PART 2
JW (0:01): As far as our crime numbers historically over the last ten or fifteen years our overall uniform crime reports are crime that’s reported to the F.B.I. has been dropping steadily and I believe 2007 was no exception. As a matter of fact, I believe the overall crime for 2007 dropped about nine percent from 2006. So even though some might say that the crime is high, comparatively speaking, its been dropping we’re looking to have that number decrease, to increase our efforts and to continue the decline of crime. (0:52)
BG (0:53): Did you want to ask one?
RF (0:56): What were the most common offenses you’ve seen being perpetrated on Terrace Avenue?
JW (1:01): Historically, Terrace Avenue has seen a lot of drug offense activity and unfortunately the ancillary crime that goes along with the drug business. Whether it be assaults, whether it be robberies. So in that effort, that’s why we started the Terrance-Bedell initiative we’re looking to dry up the open-air drug market and as a side effect we do see overall crime. (1:40)
RF (1:41): I read somewhere that the Terrace-Bedell initiative would use surveillance equipment to catch people in the act of selling or doing drugs. What success has come of that? (1:55)
JW (1:57): Our undercover operations have been quite successful. We perform undercover operations where we are looking for sellers of narcotics and or marijuana. We make multiple arrests, we execute search warrants, and authorize with the courts. We frequently, when we execute these warrants, come up with weapons. As a matter of fact, just this morning we executed a search warrant on Bedell Street where we came up with a loaded nine millimeter handgun. So we know that there are still people involved in the drug business in the area. It has pretty much dried up on the streets but we’re now attacking it where it has moved to which is inside the apartments. As far as some of the other crimes and other undercover operations as we are concerned, we’ve also performed reverses where we’ve gone after the buyers which are the other half of the drug equation. We do this for multiple reasons, one is that economics show that if we can drive the man down we can affect the supply side so if we can drive customers away theoretically there won’t be as many dealers on the street and all the ancillary crimes would be reduced exponentially. The way we do that is we have undercover officers on the street selling what looks to be crack-cocaine purchasers come up and they get arrested and they’re charged with attempted criminal possession which is a misdemeanor and a felony of the state. It is a valuable tool and we use it quite frequently. We also use some high tech equipment such as the license plate scanner, a license plate reader, where by we scan all the license plates that come down the block and typically it is used to look for stolen vehicles or vehicles whose registrations have been suspended or revoked. What we’ve done is we have actually looked for vehicles whose license registrations don’t come back to the village of Hempstead, the zip code is not 11550. Those individuals have received a personal letter from me that their vehicle was seen on Terrace Avenue and or Bedell Street during an undercover narcotics investigation. If the occupants were not engaged in any illegal activity and were here for legitimate purposes than they should disregard the letter. If they were not aware that their vehicle was here in the village of Hempstead on Terrace or Bedell Street they might want to give us a call and we can speak to them about it or they might want to inquire of the person who was using the car or where the car was or why their vehicle was on Terrace Avenue or Bedell Street and we do that strategic operation. We do pick late night hours or early morning hours when we know the likelihood of someone there that’s coming down the block that may be engaged in illegal activities or may want to participate in illegal activities. It’s designed to weed out the legitimate visitor. So we sent an excess of eighty letters out and like I said, I urged anyone who had any questions to call me personally and to date I haven’t received any phone calls. You can deduct what you like from that. (5:47)
BG (5:50): Again, I’ll try not to make this too numberish. I noticed only 33% of all these offenses were cleared, its hard obviously to catch all the offenders, but are these numbers alarmingly low or are they not that unusual to have about 30-40% of these offenses cleared? (6:13)
JW (6:14): Again, it really depends on which offenses were speaking of a lot of the offenses are, such as grand larceny, thefts from particular stores. If the store doesn’t have a surveillance camera there’s not much physical evidence for us to follow up on. If there are no witnesses it makes it very difficult. If we are looking at homicides our success rate jumps dramatically. So it really depends on what crime categorically we are looking at and how those numbers are compiled that also may not factor in warrants that may have been applied for and that’s why the case is still open. It does not factor in that we also use Nassau County who assist us on closing cases they might be found by following up on leads so while our case is still open, they might be close to closing out a case so those numbers are subject to change. (7:21)
BG (7:24): Are there any new programs being put into place to help keep the streets safe? I know you mentioned the license plate readers but other than that is there really anything coming about? (7:36)
JW (7:37): We have hired the new officers who are going to enforce a lot of quality of life issues as well as criminal activity. We also recently started a truck enforcement program which really deals with traffic safety, vehicular and pedestrian safety. A lot of vehicles that travel the roads in not only Hempstead but Nassau County could be unsafe whether it is because the load they are carrying is too heavy for the vehicle to have or whether it be defective brakes. Safety equipment is not on the vehicle. We have started a very aggressive campaign to crack down on that. We hope that it will increase the safety on our residents and the people who come to visit the village of Hempstead. We have an east end patrol that some of the license premises, the bars on the east end, they will quite frequently see where the bar patrons a lot of the patrons are under aged and sometimes they will find a way to get alcohol. So we are aggressively looking at that as well as our DWI program that is focused on that area and we also look at forgeries. A lot of times young people don’t realize that when they have fake ID, “fake ID”, what they have is actually a forged document and that is a felony in the state of New York. So we have some college students have altered their license or purchased an altered license over the internet or from somebody on campus or a friend of a friend and they show up at a bar and attempt to use it and we come in and do our operation and there they are with a forged instrument. So the charge of possession of a forged instrument is a felony and the unfortunate thing is that no one is thinking these things through, no one is thinking if they get caught I will get this felony and I will have to go to court but I got a criminal history how will it affect my life, so young people really need to think about that and play out those steps and really weigh the risks against the benefits of using that method of gaining alcohol. (10:16)
BG (10:17): So how many total police officers are on the staff right now? (10:22)
JW (10:23): Our force is comprised of 115 officers; we are looking to hire 5 more. Our personnel is roughly 50% African American. Our officers at one time or another lived in the village of Hempstead, are residents of Hempstead, or have strong connections to the village which is sometimes a very good thing because they care about the village and they know a lot of the residents and a lot of the hard working people that reside here (10:57)
RF (11:00): I was recently watching television and I saw a policeman using a “smart car” where they leave it there for criminals who hijack cars and they control it through remote controls and shut down the car and catch them in the act with a camera built in the dashboard. Has Hempstead ever thought of doing something like that? (11:23)
JW (11:24): We have discussed, we discussed it with other jurisdictions and there is always that possibility that we might implement that in the village of Hempstead if not directly through another agency and that is geared towards people that steal cars obviously. The only thing I can say towards that is that unfortunately that exists because a lot of people will pull up to a 7/11, leave their car running, run in thinking they’re going to get a cup of coffee and come out and their car is gone so the vehicle you described is usually used if its left after pulling up to a spot and somebody decides to jump in and start the vehicle and take off with it they are usually pretty quickly apprehended. (12:19)
BG (12:23): Are there any precautions or safety tips that residents can follow to avoid becoming a victim? Do you have any extra tips besides the obvious? (12:31)JW (12:32): Well the obvious ones are always good to state. Try and travel in pairs, try and avoid dark streets. If you are a homeowner or if you rent try not to have obstructions near the doorway like high bushes or things like that, try to trim them back it is very effective. If your house is lit up or your area is lit up, criminals tend to go to someplace else. Not that you wish anything bad upon your neighbors but the idea is not to become a crime victim so you need to do a lot of things to protect yourself. Crime is usually an opportunity of theft so anything you can do to deter theft, scratching your name into your laptop keeping an eye on your laptop not leaving it laying around, not leaving your ipod around out and walking away thinking I am just going to the men’s room I will be right back to my desk and of course it is gone. So people need to be vigilant and yet maybe not so vigilant that they become paranoid and lock themselves up. They just need to exercise common sense, if they are going to go out in the evening have a plan, know who you are going with know who you are coming home with. If you know you are going to perhaps have a drink or two you might want to go designate a driver. If you are a Hofstra student, I believe Hofstra security and Hofstra transportation will come out and get you if not, you know what, 4 dollars for a cab is often money well spent. Especially if it is 2 or 3 people it is a dollar a piece and it’s a small price, get back to your dorm and everyone is safe and sound everybody stays together and like I said what areas you are not sure and listen to that sixth sense so to speak if you think something is not right here things do not feel right. Move, get away, something is telling you that something is not right so listen to that inner voice and try not to be a victim. (14:56)
Production Memo: Crime in the village of Hempstead
After weeks of preparation, nagging for interviews, and traveling to new places the project is finally done. There is tweaking here and there needed to be done but for all intensive purposes the light at the end of the tunnel has finally been reached. The topic for my project was crime in the village of Hempstead. The area has been known as a high crime and high drug area for years and my goal was to investigate this further. I spoke to both the Mayor of Hempstead and the Chief of the Hempstead Police Department, Joe Wing. They agreed that while the numbers are still high the crime has been steadily decreasing for the better part of the last decade. The biggest problem areas continue to be drugs and theft.
I was surprised to learn that crime has been dropping lately but not surprised that drugs and theft are the biggest problems. Another fact that puzzled me was that the police department only cleared about 33% of the total offenses committed in 2007. In an attempt to verify all of these numbers, I called the Detective who gave me the crime reports on five separate occasions as well as emailing him but I received no response. One of my colleagues, Rich Forestano, who I collaborated with during this project was able to schedule an appointment to interview the Nassau County District Attorney however upon arriving at her office she quickly stepped out saying she had something important to attend to leaving us with frustration and no footage to show for our trouble.
For future students doing this project my biggest advice would be to start early. As much as I was able to get done I wish I had started it earlier. There are a lot of technical parts to this project and you need to stay on top of what you are doing. Becoming familiar with the movie maker editing program will also be a huge benefit for this class. Usually, teachers tend to teach Hofstra journalism students the Avid program and not the movie maker but I found movie maker to be a much easier program to work with. Overall, the project is a great way to use cutting edge journalism equipment to share our posts with more than the 15 or so other kids in the classroom. Now we can show the world our work.
I was surprised to learn that crime has been dropping lately but not surprised that drugs and theft are the biggest problems. Another fact that puzzled me was that the police department only cleared about 33% of the total offenses committed in 2007. In an attempt to verify all of these numbers, I called the Detective who gave me the crime reports on five separate occasions as well as emailing him but I received no response. One of my colleagues, Rich Forestano, who I collaborated with during this project was able to schedule an appointment to interview the Nassau County District Attorney however upon arriving at her office she quickly stepped out saying she had something important to attend to leaving us with frustration and no footage to show for our trouble.
For future students doing this project my biggest advice would be to start early. As much as I was able to get done I wish I had started it earlier. There are a lot of technical parts to this project and you need to stay on top of what you are doing. Becoming familiar with the movie maker editing program will also be a huge benefit for this class. Usually, teachers tend to teach Hofstra journalism students the Avid program and not the movie maker but I found movie maker to be a much easier program to work with. Overall, the project is a great way to use cutting edge journalism equipment to share our posts with more than the 15 or so other kids in the classroom. Now we can show the world our work.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Transcription of Interview with Hempstead Mayor Wayne Hall
TRANSCRIPTION OF HEMPSTEAD MAYOR WAYNE HALL
BG = Ben Golden
WH = Wayne Hall
Shot by Ken McCarron
BG (:00): This Terrace Avenue, they are given a second chance?
WH (:04): Yeah, the program is initiated by the D.A. and back this January. What happens is they pick seventeen drug dealers that were out on the streets dealing drugs and were caught on camera, on videotapes, they had the evidence right there and they sent them letters saying we know what you are doing; we want you to come to this meeting. If you come to this meeting, you won’t get arrested and out of the seventeen I think twelve of them came and at the meeting the D.A. told them we got you but we aren’t going to arrest you as long as you can go straight and I think what happened maybe two or three of them faltered and so now they are in jail and the others are out. I gave one of them a job here and she has been working now for about two weeks, this is her second week and she has been doing a good job so hopefully the program works but we’re still going to do our part in patrolling it. Patrolling Terrace Avenue we even got plate readers where we can read the car’s license plate so we know immediately where they live and say for instance you came over there and someone says hey what are you doing there, and read your license plate and send you a letter especially if you do not own the car and send it to that person. It may be in your parents name and we send it and it says you have been seen in the high crime high drug area and if you’re not there to buy illegal drugs, whatever the letter said, I think that has been a deterrent right there but the problem is to get the guns off the street because a lot of guns are being imported from Virginia. A lot of young people, I think the highest death rate for African American males is homicide and I also think that in the Hispanic community too. Guns for the African Americans to kill each other and knives over in the Hispanic community but I think initiatives and the addition of new police officers I think that you know they are trying to be more proactive than reactive and going after the crime. (2:52)
BG (2:53): Is there any one part, one area of crime that you see overwhelmingly over the others like is it homicide is it assault is it vandalism? Have you seen one area more than anything else? (3:07)
WH (3:08): Well I think with crime, I mean overall since last year, talking until up to last year, the crime rate has gone down about 9% overall, all crimes and everything but the one thing that has not gone down is the violent crime and when I say violent crime I mean assaults and things like that. I think rapes went down and so forth. But the violent crime, like I said, with the addition of the new police officers that may help but a lot of the violent crimes are domestic too things that happen inside houses and so forth so that is kind of difficult to control. But my goal is to change the image of what everybody thinks of Hempstead and I know that it can be a better place. Just because we are predominantly minorities here that does not mean we can’t have a nice community where everybody could walk through the community and feel safe so that’s what I’m working on. (4:16)
BG (4:17): Well thank you very much. (4:19)
BG = Ben Golden
WH = Wayne Hall
Shot by Ken McCarron
BG (:00): This Terrace Avenue, they are given a second chance?
WH (:04): Yeah, the program is initiated by the D.A. and back this January. What happens is they pick seventeen drug dealers that were out on the streets dealing drugs and were caught on camera, on videotapes, they had the evidence right there and they sent them letters saying we know what you are doing; we want you to come to this meeting. If you come to this meeting, you won’t get arrested and out of the seventeen I think twelve of them came and at the meeting the D.A. told them we got you but we aren’t going to arrest you as long as you can go straight and I think what happened maybe two or three of them faltered and so now they are in jail and the others are out. I gave one of them a job here and she has been working now for about two weeks, this is her second week and she has been doing a good job so hopefully the program works but we’re still going to do our part in patrolling it. Patrolling Terrace Avenue we even got plate readers where we can read the car’s license plate so we know immediately where they live and say for instance you came over there and someone says hey what are you doing there, and read your license plate and send you a letter especially if you do not own the car and send it to that person. It may be in your parents name and we send it and it says you have been seen in the high crime high drug area and if you’re not there to buy illegal drugs, whatever the letter said, I think that has been a deterrent right there but the problem is to get the guns off the street because a lot of guns are being imported from Virginia. A lot of young people, I think the highest death rate for African American males is homicide and I also think that in the Hispanic community too. Guns for the African Americans to kill each other and knives over in the Hispanic community but I think initiatives and the addition of new police officers I think that you know they are trying to be more proactive than reactive and going after the crime. (2:52)
BG (2:53): Is there any one part, one area of crime that you see overwhelmingly over the others like is it homicide is it assault is it vandalism? Have you seen one area more than anything else? (3:07)
WH (3:08): Well I think with crime, I mean overall since last year, talking until up to last year, the crime rate has gone down about 9% overall, all crimes and everything but the one thing that has not gone down is the violent crime and when I say violent crime I mean assaults and things like that. I think rapes went down and so forth. But the violent crime, like I said, with the addition of the new police officers that may help but a lot of the violent crimes are domestic too things that happen inside houses and so forth so that is kind of difficult to control. But my goal is to change the image of what everybody thinks of Hempstead and I know that it can be a better place. Just because we are predominantly minorities here that does not mean we can’t have a nice community where everybody could walk through the community and feel safe so that’s what I’m working on. (4:16)
BG (4:17): Well thank you very much. (4:19)
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