The Hassidic organizer of a citizens car petrol in the crime-ridden Crown Heights section of Brooklyn reported last night that crime in the area had dropped by 90 per cent since the patrols began.
Police officials, noting that the area had been heavily reinforced with additional police, confirmed that the situation had improved. The police reinforcement followed the formation of the Hassidic radio-equipped car patrol last May 17 after a wave of muggings, assaults and murders in the area.
Rabbi Samuel Shrage, who led the organization of the car patrols, said that the number of calls received by the civilian patrol headquarters had dropped to an average of 15 a night. Previously from 50 to 100 calls were received nightly. He credited the police as well as the unarmed patrols for the improvement.
He said the patrols, with their 240 volunteers, would be continued until August when a decision would be made on whether to continue them. The cars were manned by Hassidic Jews and by white and Negro Christians. Rabbi Schrage also reported that at a meeting last night attended by representatives of 35 local civic and religious groups plans were made to recruit additional volunteers for the patrols on a community-wide basis.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
