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Edgemont Crime Rates Concerning for Some

EDGEMONT, N.Y. – Crime rates in Edgemont are either concerning or encouraging, depending on whom you ask.

While Greenburgh police are touting progress, community leaders say fears continue to linger.

“Unfortunately, burglaries in Edgemont persist and there are continuing concerns about police patrol,” Edgemont Community Council president Geoff Loftus said last week in an open forum with Greenburgh town representatives.

Greenburgh Police Chief Joseph DeCarlo, however, noted his department saw a 25 percent decrease in burglaries in 2011 compared to the year before, adding his department has seen similar trends so far in 2012.

“I think we've really made progress,” he said. “I’m very pleased. Recently we’ve made several arrests on suspected burglaries.”

In 2010, there were 20 burglaries in Edgemont, a number of which targeted Indian and Asian families who were thought to have expensive jewelry in their home.  In 2011, there were 15 burglaries, according to Greenbrugh police statistics.  

Many of those burglaries the past two years are concentrated in the Greenville section, which is a disturbing trend, Loftus said.

“Thirty-five burglaries in two years time affecting one single section of Edgemont shows a continuing problem that the town has not been able to address,” Loftus said in a recent email.

Loftus also raised concerns about the 108 Edgemont larcenies in 2011, up from 90 the year before.

“Burglaries and larcenies affect the quality of life in Edgemont -- the fact that there are so many such incidents occurring on a regular basis is extremely troubling,” he said.

Larceny aside, serious and violent crimes – homicide, rape, robbery, burglary, felony assault, motor vehicle theft – saw a nearly 10 percent decrease in the neighborhood in 2011 compared to the year before, according to Greenburgh police statistics.

Less serious offenses, such as criminal mischief and public order complaints, saw a 19 percent increase in 2011, up to 192, reports show.

DeCarlo told community members his department continues to take proactive measures to deter crime in the area, including the addition of plainclothes officers surveying the neighborhood.

“We’ve tried to put more people in Edgemont,” he said. 

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