Though crime in the 75th precinct is significantly down from even 10 years ago, it's up 8% from last year, and East New York residents are worried. There are almost twice as many murders and rapes to date this year as there were last year, and Inspector Jeffrey Maddrey told the Daily News, "The gang issue is definitely prevalent in this community." Resident Julius Dennison summed up having to deal with violence as a 63-year-old in the neighborhood: "I'm too old for this nonsense."
A number of the murders and assaults in the neighborhood have also taken place in broad daylight, such as Maurice Burrus' stabbing and the possible hate crime beating of Kamal Uddin. And even though there are 400 cops covering the 5.5 square mile area, residents still don't feel safe. Local Jill Gordon said, "I'm always on alert. My son is at the age where he is being bothered by gangs. We're trying to move out of Brooklyn, or at least somewhere safer." Overall, murder is up 10.1% and rape is up 13.4% from last year, but total crime is down 1.78%.
