Murder, Rape up in Central Brooklyn
Felony crime on course to rise more than 10 percent in 2010

The two most violent crimes – murder and rape – are up sharply in the Central Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.
So far this year there have been 56 reported murders in these neighborhoods compared to 39 at this time in 2009, according to police statistics.
The deadliest areas include the 81st Precinct (covering Stuyvesant Heights) and the 77th Precinct (covering Crown Heights). So far this year both commands have 16 reported homicides as compared to 12 at this time last year.
The 79th Precinct (covering Bed-Stuy) is even in murders with 12 reported this year and 12 at this time in 2009.
Less violent Fort Greene/Clinton Hill has had six murders so far in 2010, which is still three more than last year at this time, according to 88th Precinct statistics that cover the area.
Rape has risen even sharper in Central Brooklyn with 71 reported as compared to 47 at this time last year.
Bedford-Stuyvesant and Stuyvesant Heights is the hardest hit with this crime accounting for 45 of the 71 rapes. Of these two neighborhoods, Stuyvesant Heights has seen a whopping 133 percent increase in rape with 21 so far this year as compared to only nine at this point in 2009.
Rape is also up 66 percent in Crown Heights with 18 reported in 2010 as compared to 11 at this time last year.
Fort Greene/Clinton Hill has had eight reported rapes so far this year as compared to two last year.
Of the four precincts covering Central Brooklyn, the biggest jump in overall felony crime including murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and auto theft is Crown Heights, which is up nearly 14 percent for the year. Of these crimes, felony assault (35%) and burglary (28%) have seen unusually large increases.
Bed-Stuy has seen an overall 12 percent increase in felony crime with grand larceny leading the way being up a little more than 20 percent.
In past months, police sources have attributed the rise in grand larceny and robbery to teen-on-teen crime, particularly  handheld electronic devices.
While crime has jumped overall about 11 percent in Stuyvesant Heights, auto theft is down 20 percent and burglary is down about 10 percent for the year. On the other hand, felony assault is up 34 percent.
The most active precinct battling crime has been Bed-Stuy’s 79th Precinct where there have been 1,572 reported felonies this year as compared to 1,445 at this time in 2009.
By comparison, Fort Greene/Clinton Hill’s 88th Precinct has had a reported 936 felonies so far in 2010 as compared to 839 at this time last year for a nearly 12 percent jump in crime.
Police officials were not able to get back to Our Time Press with comments about the increase of crime at press time.