Crime statistics show decrease across LI so far in 2017

Crime is down across Long Island so far this year, with Suffolk and Nassau counties each on track to record fewer homicides than 2016, despite a series of killings attributed to the MS-13 street gang.

In Suffolk, major crime — which includes homicide, burglary and robbery — fell 12.6 percent for the same period last year. Homicides are on track to total fewer than in 2016. Major crime in Nassau County has fallen 5.2 percent compared to the same period last year, police statistics show.

Police officials in both counties credit the decrease to fine-tuning of their criminal intelligence operation and an infusion of technology — such as surveillance cameras and license plate readers to target violence-prone areas — in response, in part, to MS-13 gang slayings, officials said.

Overall crime — which includes all major crimes plus lesser offenses — is down 9.3 percent in Suffolk, according to statistics; a figure for Nassau was not immediately available.

Suffolk Police Commissioner Timothy Sini said his department has had success extracting information from suspects officers arrested, and some of that intelligence helped the police solve crimes.

“We’ve had a real focus on making that a priority within the department — collecting as much intelligence as possible, whether it’s regarding property crimes like larcenies or the MS-13 issues,” Sini said.

Acting Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said the department is achieving crime decreases through the use of intelligence and a robust operation of 22 civilian crime analysts and another dozen detectives, plus others assigned chiefly to financial crimes and terrorism.

“Our intel has been outstanding since we started it, in terms of our flow of information” said Ryder, explaining the department quickly shares intelligence among the units to solve crimes fast. “We have an investment in there.”

Suffolk has recorded 15 homicides through Aug. 19, compared to 18 at the same point last year — a 16.7 percent decrease, according to police department statistics. Suspects have been arrested in 11 out of 15 homicides.

Six of this year’s Suffolk homicides were allegedly committed by MS-13 members and police have made arrests, including federal indictments in the killings of four young men in April in a Central Islip park, police said.

There have been eight homicides in Nassau County so far this year, compared to a dozen at the same point last year.

Nassau has not been immune to MS-13 violence. Since 2016, according to police, there have been four slayings in the county attributed to MS-13, including the January killing of a teenager whose body was found in March at the Massapequa Preserve. Police responded by installing dozens of surveillance cameras in a park that is popular with bikers and hikers.

Ryder pointed to arrests and prosecutions of gang members in Nassau to in recent years partly explain how Nassau has prevented the gang onslaught that has plagued Suffolk.

“When you put a guy away for 20-25 years, that’s huge and it sends a message,” Ryder said. “You start taking out these main players, a lot of guys aren’t that eager to take the job anymore.”

Nassau’s statistics show upticks in two crime categories — 13.7 percent in felony assault and 5.9 percent in grand larceny. Ryder said those increases aren’t indicative of a larger crime wave, but rather crimes that are difficult to prevent, such as domestic violence incidents.

Ryder said a 34 percent decrease in residential burglaries this year had been achieved in part to a recent reorganization of squads investigating property crimes with burglary and robbery detectives.

“We’ve had great gains,” Ryder said. “We can’t always be the Yankees from the early days and keep on having championships. You can’t always keep winning. You have to keep up bringing new players and new ideas and that what’s we did.”

Nassau numbers show homicides are down 33.3 percent this year, from 12 in 2016 to 8 as of Aug. 19; robberies declined by 15.1 percent from 192 in 2016 to 163 this year, burglaries declined 34.4 percent, from 485 in 2016 to 318 this year.

Suffolk’s crime decreases come after the county of about 1.5 million people received national attention after MS-13 killings, including the slayings of two teenage girls in Brentwood in September 2016. Since January 2016, police said, 17 people have been killed allegedly by MS-13 members.

President Donald Trump, who has blamed gang violence and other crime on illegal immigration, came to Brentwood in July and described some Long Island towns as “bloodstained killing fields” that are “under siege” and need to be liberated from MS-13.

Suffolk police since the killings of Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, have arrested 180 suspected gang members, police said.

Last month, Suffolk police and the state liquor authority raided a pair of Patchogue bars they allege were MS-13 hangouts — Cuscatlan Sport Bar & Grill and El Capitan Sports Bar — and arrested seven people and detained two others on immigration holds. Sini said the raids resulted from “reliable intelligence.”

The bars were condemned and closed because of multiple town building code violations. Asked about the possibility of business owners being unfairly targeted, Sini said: “My message to that innocent bar owner, is that if you’re running a business in Suffolk County and MS-13 is utilizing it as a hangout, you assume the risk of being targeted by the Suffolk County Police Department.”

A plan to place license plate readers in Brentwood and Central Islip as a deterrent to gang activity should be completed by late September, Sini said. The department recently gave surveillance cameras to each police precinct to use in crime hot spots.

Sini acknowledged there are “resource issues” and he’d like to have more cameras. He said the department plans to use asset forfeiture funds to “get to the place where we need to be,” but he wouldn’t specify how many cameras he would employ.

Suffolk police statistics show robberies are down 22.4 percent, from 330 in 2016 to 256 through Aug. 19; burglaries fell 21.4 percent from 1,109 to 872; larcenies declined 8.1 percent from 9,763 to 8,976 and motor vehicle thefts are down 2.6 percent from 665 to 648.

Shootings decreased 12.8 percent to 41 this year from 47 at the same point last year.

Sini said the department has also cracked down on emerging pattern crimes, by more effectively sharing intelligence and making arrests more quickly. For instance, police made a recent arrest in a pattern of two robberies in Islandia and Hauppauge, after a Fourth Precinct detective recognized the description of a parolee.

Changes to how the department’s Criminal Intelligence Section operates have been key to the decreases, Sini said. In the past, those detectives worked cases on their own, rather than the more effective route of sharing them with the patrol cops and various squads, he said.

The department has also trained officers on how to do more effective questioning of suspects.

“Officers getting info out of their people, we’re really watching it,” Sini said. “We’ve developed protocols to get the job done and we’re going to continue to fine-tune our processes. ”

Suffolk County Police crime statistics, year-to-date as of Aug. 19

Murder: 15 in 2017; 18 in 2016 = 16.7 percent drop

Robbery: 256 in 2017; 330 in 2016 = 22.4 percent drop

Aggravated assault: 540 in 2017; 572 in 2016 = 5.6 percent drop

Burglary: 872 in 2017; 1109 in 2016 = 21.4 percent drop

Larceny: 8976 in 2017; 9763 in 2016 = 8.1 percent drop

Motor vehicle theft: 648 in 2017; 665 in 2016 = 2.6 percent drop

Source: Suffolk County Police Department

Nassau County Police crime statistics, year-to-date as of Aug. 19

Murder: 8 in 2017; 12 in 2016 = 33.3 percent drop

Robbery: 163 in 2017; 192 in 2016 = 15.1 percent drop

Commercial robbery: 84 in 2017; 119 in 2016 = 29.4 percent dropFelony assault: 266 in 2017; 234 in 2016 = 13.7 percent increase

Residential burglary: 318 in 2017; 485 in 2016 = 34.4 percent drop Commercial burglary: 226 in 2017; 277 in 2016 = 18.4 percent drop Stolen vehicles: 280 in 2017; 293 in 2016 = 4.4 percent drop Grand larceny: 2,063 in 2017; 1,948 in 2016 = 5.9 percent increase

Source: Nassau County Police Department

Suffolk County Police crime statistics, year-to-date as of Aug. 19

Murder: 15 in 2017; 18 in 2016 = 16.7 percent drop

Robbery: 256 in 2017; 330 in 2016 = 22.4 percent drop

Aggravated assault: 540 in 2017; 572 in 2016 = 5.6 percent drop

Burglary: 872 in 2017; 1109 in 2016 = 21.4 percent drop

Larceny: 8976 in 2017; 9763 in 2016 = 8.1 percent drop

Motor vehicle theft: 648 in 2017; 665 in 2016 = 2.6 percent drop

Source: Suffolk County Police Department

Nassau County Police crime statistics, year-to-date as of Aug. 19

Murder: 8 in 2017; 12 in 2016 = 33.3 percent drop

Robbery: 163 in 2017; 192 in 2016 = 15.1 percent drop

Commercial robbery: 84 in 2017; 119 in 2016 = 29.4 percent dropFelony assault: 266 in 2017; 234 in 2016 = 13.7 percent increase

Residential burglary: 318 in 2017; 485 in 2016 = 34.4 percent drop Commercial burglary: 226 in 2017; 277 in 2016 = 18.4 percent drop Stolen vehicles: 280 in 2017; 293 in 2016 = 4.4 percent drop Grand larceny: 2,063 in 2017; 1,948 in 2016 = 5.9 percent increase

Source: Nassau County Police Department

Suffolk County Police crime statistics, year-to-date as of Aug. 19

Murder: 15 in 2017; 18 in 2016 = 16.7 percent drop

Robbery: 256 in 2017; 330 in 2016 = 22.4 percent drop

Aggravated assault: 540 in 2017; 572 in 2016 = 5.6 percent drop

Burglary: 872 in 2017; 1109 in 2016 = 21.4 percent drop

Larceny: 8976 in 2017; 9763 in 2016 = 8.1 percent drop

Motor vehicle theft: 648 in 2017; 665 in 2016 = 2.6 percent drop

Source: Suffolk County Police Department

Nassau County Police crime statistics, year-to-date as of Aug. 19

Murder: 8 in 2017; 12 in 2016 = 33.3 percent drop

Robbery: 163 in 2017; 192 in 2016 = 15.1 percent drop

Commercial robbery: 84 in 2017; 119 in 2016 = 29.4 percent dropFelony assault: 266 in 2017; 234 in 2016 = 13.7 percent increase

Residential burglary: 318 in 2017; 485 in 2016 = 34.4 percent drop Commercial burglary: 226 in 2017; 277 in 2016 = 18.4 percent drop Stolen vehicles: 280 in 2017; 293 in 2016 = 4.4 percent drop Grand larceny: 2,063 in 2017; 1,948 in 2016 = 5.9 percent increase

Source: Nassau County Police Department

Suffolk County Police crime statistics, year-to-date as of Aug. 19

Murder: 15 in 2017; 18 in 2016 = 16.7 percent drop

Robbery: 256 in 2017; 330 in 2016 = 22.4 percent drop

Aggravated assault: 540 in 2017; 572 in 2016 = 5.6 percent drop

Burglary: 872 in 2017; 1109 in 2016 = 21.4 percent drop

Larceny: 8976 in 2017; 9763 in 2016 = 8.1 percent drop

Motor vehicle theft: 648 in 2017; 665 in 2016 = 2.6 percent drop

Source: Suffolk County Police Department

Nassau County Police crime statistics, year-to-date as of Aug. 19

Murder: 8 in 2017; 12 in 2016 = 33.3 percent drop

Robbery: 163 in 2017; 192 in 2016 = 15.1 percent drop

Commercial robbery: 84 in 2017; 119 in 2016 = 29.4 percent dropFelony assault: 266 in 2017; 234 in 2016 = 13.7 percent increase

Residential burglary: 318 in 2017; 485 in 2016 = 34.4 percent drop Commercial burglary: 226 in 2017; 277 in 2016 = 18.4 percent drop Stolen vehicles: 280 in 2017; 293 in 2016 = 4.4 percent drop Grand larceny: 2,063 in 2017; 1,948 in 2016 = 5.9 percent increase

Source: Nassau County Police Department

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.