By BOB KAPPSTATTER 

The year 2014 was one of pluses and minuses for the 52nd Precinct. But its commanding officer isn’t complaining–or relaxing.

The precinct, covering Norwood, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights and parts of Fordham and University Heights, saw a healthy drop in what had already become record low numbers in murders and shootings, despite a nasty local drug war.

Among the city’s 77 precincts, it ranked 7th in 2014 for major crime complaints – 2,193 – and 15th for overall crime reduction, which dropped 0.63 percent when compared to 2013. It also ranked in the top 10 for robberies (4th), assaults (8th) and burglaries (6th) citywide.

Crushing Violent Crime

“As for 2014, when it comes to violent crime, we’ve done a very good job,” said Inspector Nilda Hofmann. The 47-year-old commander took over the reins of the precinct in early 2013 after running the 25th Precinct in East Harlem.

“We’re down in murder almost 42 percent–seven versus 12 murders in 2013,” said Hofmann.

Shootings were down to 28 versus 35 in 2013–a 20 percent drop and 68 percent dip from 1993, when the borough’s drug epidemic raged.  “One person shot is too many, but one of our goals is to bring down our shootings and homicides.”

For Hofmann, lowering local crime is both professional and personal. “My passion to the 5-2 is because I was raised here on Decatur Avenue, where a lot of our issues are now. I graduated from Walton High School. My mission is to make sure my officers and the community is safe at the end of the day,” said Hofmann.

She’s also made an effort for community outreach. She routinely stops by the 52nd Precinct Community Council meetings held monthly, updating residents on major crime. She’s also introduced Grandmothers Love Over Violence (L.O.V.), a support group for grandmothers who raise their grandchildren whose parents are imprisoned or drug addicted. In August, Hofmann was visible at the precinct’s National Night Out festivities.

Targeting Hotspots

With help from NYPD Narcotics and Gang units, Hofmann is targeting “a couple of the crews who are terrorizing our neighborhoods.” That includes robberies, she added, noting it’s a primary way of making money. “That and drugs,” she said.

The north end of University Heights, between 183rd Street and Fordham Road, is one of the precinct’s prime crime spots, with one murder and most of the precinct’s shootings happening there last year.

In Fordham’s 194th Street from Valentine to Webster avenues, “a particular crew has been battling with established drug dealers to take over their turf,” Hofmann said. To deal with it, she shifted half of her local Operation Impact (rookies teamed with veterans who flood problem areas) to patrol there. “It’s one of our toughest neighborhoods,” she noted, “while Kingsbridge Heights, Bedford Park, Norwood–those are our least problematic areas.”

“What I also notice in those neighborhoods, you have the most organized groups that are very involved with us – The Jerome-Gun Hill BID, the Bedford-Mosholu Community Association, 204th Street that’s forming a BID, Williamsbridge Oval. That’s the difference, where you have a community that’s very involved.”

Indeed, the precinct has worked closely with Marcia Cameron, executive director of the Jerome-Gun Hill BID, to install surveillance cameras along the commercial strip. The cameras, funded by Councilman Andrew Cohen, would have been a boon for the BID. Burglaries were up 4.2 percent, from 356 to 371, the BID taking a hit “big time,” said Hofmann. “Numerous stores have been getting hit through their rooftops,” said Hofmann. “We believe it’s mostly a professional crew who go in, with gloves, and immediately cut the security camera wire.”

Grand larceny, involving theft of over $1,000 in money or property, dropped 4.6 percent, from 737 incidents to 703, with Hofmann noting a large number of cases involved bank and credit card fraud – “and it’s very difficult to police that.”

Other Crime Categories

As for other major crime categories, robberies dropped seven percent last year, from 473 in 2013 to 440, “because we put the officers where we see the problem,” said Hofmann. The cell phone of choice for robbers, she noted, has gone from iPhones to Samsungs.

Rapes – which she noted “many of those involve people who are known to each other” – jumped 3.8 percent, from 26 to 27 last year.

Felony assaults took a hefty 12 percent jump, from 484 to 542, with Hofmann saying many of them are domestic cases.

“With strangulation now being part of a legal assault charge, we’ve seen an increase, with hands around the neck,” she said. “Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in domestic violence. We want to see people report domestic violence, especially in the Hispanic and immigrant communities.”

One bright spot was grand larceny auto, with a 13.4 percent drop in stolen vehicles from 119 in 2013 to 103 last year.

And even in her nearly two years at the precinct, Hofmann has won hearts and minds. Community Board 7 Chair Adaline Walker-Santiago had high praise for Hofmann for the work she and her officers are doing. “She’s always out there, giving her cell phone number to everybody, Walker-Santiago said. “We stay very close in touch. Whenever anything happens, she has her officers call me directly.”

Bob Kappstatter is a guest contributor to the Norwood News.