Opportunity Crimes Up In Richmond Hill

The commanding officer of the 102nd Precinct, Capt. Charles McEvoy, was at last week's RHBA meeting advising residents not to leave their personal belongings unattended. A spate of recent grand larcenies were the subject of the Wednesday, June 25 Richmond Hill Block Association meeting, where community members were warned not to leave their personal property unattended.

The commanding officer of the 102nd Precinct, Capt. Charles McEvoy, attended the monthly session at RHBA's Jamaica Avenue headquarters to apprise the association of a rise in "crimes of opportunity" where females are having their pocketbooks robbed after leaving them in their cars before entering neighborhood bars and restaurants, particularly along the Jamaica Avenue strip.

"Don't take your handbags out of your sight- not even for a second," advised McEvoy.

Similarly, area residents are also experiencing their credit cards being stolen in various

-SEE RHBA ON PG. 74- centers during moments of distraction.

The credit cards, he noted, are frequently being used to purchase gasoline.

Identity theft

The audience was told to be wary of identity theft, which was described as "the crime of the time."

The captain instructed everyone to never divulge their social security numbers, even at a bank or medical office.

In times when the number must be revealed, he recommended that people limit themselves to solely volunteering the last four digits of their code.

Those in attendance were additionally told to never carry their social security cards with them and were further reminded to steer clear of grocery store automatic teller machines, which have often been found to be tampered with undetectable devices capable of recording an individual's stored data.

Graffiti

On the topic of graffiti, Community Affairs Unit P.O. John McCoy filled in RHBA member Richard Dono on special video enhancing software being utilized to look for vandals currently employing two or three different tags.

By working in tandem with officers of the 106th Precinct, continued McCoy, much work is being done in pursuing some of the more prolific graffiti offenders.

One of these individuals has reportedly hit over 160 locations throughout Ozone Park and Richmond Hill.

McCoy did acknowledge that the precinct is dealing with some local business owners who refuse to sign waivers authorizing the police to rid their property of vandalism.

He promised RHBA President Simcha Waisman that he would soon be meeting with him to identify frequently vandalized locations in need of camera surveillance.

American Cancer Society

Ann Stephens of the American Cancer Society was on hand to promote two upcoming events sponsored by her group.

On Thursday morning, Aug. 14, the ACS will be hosting a breakfast event at Terrace on the Park (located at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park) to raise money and awareness for a women's program offering free mammographys and pap smears.

Also, on Sunday, Oct. 5, the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer five-mile walk will take place at Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens.

Registration for the activity begins at 9 a.m.

Stephens also made mention of the organization's need for volunteers to educate the community.

The ACS has lost quite a few outreach coordinators due to a government grant that was recently taken away, necessitating the call for additional volunteer help.

The Richmond Hill Block Association regularly meets on the last Wednesday of the month at its local headquarters, located at 110-08 Jamaica Ave.

No meetings have been scheduled for the months of June and July,