A discussion was held last week to address recent break-ins in the Oyster Bay and East Norwich communities, hosted by Leg. Don Mackenzie and members of the Nassau County Police Department and organized by the Oyster Bay Civic Association. About 75 concerned residents gathered in the auditorium of Oyster Bay High School on Tuesday, Feb. 10 to get some insight into the spike in burglaries at the end of last year and learn what can be done to try and prevent these types of crimes from occurring.
Sgt. Kevin Carolan gave some of the statistics from last year and said that there were seven burglaries in East Norwich and seven burglaries in Oyster Bay, and one so far this year in East Norwich. Four of those have resulted in arrest and two arrests are pending for suspects who were apprehended and arrested in another jurisdiction.
He explained the difference between a burglary and robbery, the main defining difference being that a burglary involves a home break-in with theft. He said there have been no reported robberies lately.
He then discussed possible burglary prevention, including locking all doors, keeping lights on at night, not leaving newspapers or trash cans laying around the driveway, using a burglar alarm and remembering to set it.
Several residents voiced their concern over the problems they have witnessed in Theodore Roosevelt Park, primarily in the summer months, citing vandalism to boats kept in the marina as well as what they perceive to be drug deals.
“It seems to be a hub of negative activity,” said one man, who added that he calls the police weekly.
The sergeant said they do have patrol cars that do surveillance of the area regularly, but said that if it seems as if someone is in danger, the best thing to do is to call 911.
Several people in attendance said their homes had been burglarized in the past year and expressed fear that it could happen again and concern over the lack of police presence in their neighborhoods.
“I was robbed three times last year; one time I was home, one time my son was home,” said a woman in attendance. She said that the people had been caught but one is getting out of jail soon. “We’re afraid…the pattern seems to be between 2 and 6 p.m. and I have yet to see a patrol car during that time.”
The sergeant assured her that although residents may not always see the patrol cars, “they are out there 24 hours a day.”
The discussion soon turned into a presentation, led by Sharon Galvin, a police officer with NCPD, about setting up a neighborhood watch system. She gave information about what it means to have a neighborhood watch in effect and how to get it started.
“It’s whatever you decide you want it to be…participants become the eyes and ears of the community,” said Galvin.
She said that while it is not a guarantee against crime, it helps people become more aware of their neighbors’ habits and can help bring the community together. She further explained that when you set it up, there is a chain of command so that the coordinator is generally the only person who deals with the precinct, which helps to get the information on a suspect or incident correct.
“We don’t want you to become the police,” she said. “This does not mean you intervene with a suspect, you just observe.”
Whether or not the community does decide to set up a neighborhood watch, she reiterated the point that it’s better to alert the authorities if something does not seem right, even it turns out to be a false alarm.
“Never be embarrassed to call 911,” she said. “It’s better to err on the side of caution.”
