By DAVID CRUZ

Overall crime at the 52nd Precinct is finally coming down, thanks to the NYPD’s Summer All Out initiative, reversing a trend that’s troubled residents in Norwood in recent months.

In the span of three weeks, the precinct covering Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge and University Heights has seen a pushback on violent offenses, with overall violent crime showing a near 15 percent drop. Summertime is usually a bellwether for crime—the higher the temperatures, the more hostile an environment.

The Five-Two received 12 extra officers in June after officials at One Police Plaza announced the Summer All Out initiative, which takes officers out of administrative roles, to problematic streets. They’re joined by newly assigned rookie officers, supervised by a senior officer. In all, 330 officers have been deployed to the streets.

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, at a July 15 news conference updating reporters on the initiative, said other crime-fighting tactics, such as more overtime for officers and more police personnel, have helped curtail crime.

Bratton joined Mayor Bill de Blasio at Cardinal Spellman High School in Baychester  to unveil “One City: Safe and Fair Everywhere,” a new crime fighting strategy that puts more cops on the beat. The program places a heavier emphasis on community policing, where officers are more enmeshed and interactive with the community. De Blasio, who’s implemented tangible changes to the Police Department’s method of policing, urged residents to “get to know the officers who patrol your streets.”

“Officers are going to get to know you. You need to get to know them. Take time to share information,” said de Blasio. “Take time to show them where there are problems and give them leads. Give them a sense of what needs to be addressed, and they will appreciate that.”

From June 21 to July 12, the Five-Two recorded 143 crimes, down from 168 the same time a year ago. Leading the crime drop are robberies, now reduced to 30 from 43 the same time a year before.

“[W]ith the continued support of the community, we can increase our communities’ safety and sense of security,” said Inspector Nilda Hofmann, commanding officer of the 52nd Precinct. This has contributed to a slightly lower overall crime rate this year, with 1,060 reported crimes versus 1,071 the year before, amounting to one percent fewer crimes.

The 47th Precinct, a neighboring stationhouse serving Woodlawn, Wakefield, Williamsbridge, Baychester, Edenwald, Olinville and Fishbay, is also another precinct with extra troops under the Summer All Out program. It reported three shootings in the first half of this summer, compared to 10 during the same time in 2014, a 70 percent drop.

Editor’s Note: Go to www.norwoodnews.org for the latest updates on crime in the neighborhood.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.