Deputy Inspector John G. Cappelmann (Photo: Mary Reinholz)
Crime in the NYPD’s 9th precinct dropped by a “significant” 21% over the past 28 days compared to the same time frame from last year, says Deputy Inspector John G. Cappelmann. Cappelmann, the commanding officer of the precinct, which encompasses the East Village and parts of LES, delivered the good news at last night’s monthly Community Council meeting. He did not, however, cite New York’s brutal winter weather as a reason.
“We’re doing great,” he said at the East 5th Street stationhouse before rattling off stats on the decline of various felonies. Burglaries, for example, were way down. “There were five—very low—compared to 15 from the 28-day period last year when they ‘spiked,’” Cappelmann said.
By contrast, robberies rose from 8 to 11 from the same period last year with four by the same perps. Cappelmann described one incident in which a suspect grabbed a man from behind on the Bowery, “punched him in the face” and made off with his wallet.
He also reported “felonious assaults on five police officers” over the last 28 days, adding: “No one was seriously injured.”
Police in the 9th precinct stopped and questioned a 15-year-old male on East 11th Street and Avenue C who was subsequently busted for robbery in another precinct. He had been following people on the street in the East Village when he was stopped. The teenager was released but it was later discovered his description matched that of an alleged adolescent bandit who had pulled off 14 different robberies during a four-day crime spree in several Manhattan precincts outside the 9th. Two of the robberies involved sexual assault.
“He created havoc,” Cappelmann said, noting that his officers’ notification of the suspect’s name and description led to his arrest. He is now in juvenile detention.
Cappelmann told B+B it was “too early to tell” whether Mayor Bill De Blasio’s goal of restricting controversial Stop and Frisk tactics has had any adverse affect on crime fighting in the precinct. He described Stop and Frisk as “an effective tool if it’s used properly.”
Before Cappelmann, spoke, two officers from the 9th’s Community Affairs Unit gave a presentation on ID thefts and phone scams involving Green Dot MoneyPak cards. Other robberies involved perps using hidden micro cameras mounted on fake pamphlet boxes at ATM cubicles that can view debit card information.