Commercial Burglaries Up During NYC Lockdown

With bail eliminated in New York City, and many businesses closed, NYPD data indicate that commercial burglaries have jumped by 75%.   Daniel Cassady of the New York Post reports that between March 12, when Mayor de Blasio ordered the lockdown and March 31, police reported 254 businesses burglarized, particularly cash businesses such as supermarkets and bodegas.    According to the city’s Chief of Crime Control “the burglaries we are seeing now are more organized and specifically targeted.  There’s much more night-time entry, more forced entry….while they (businesses) are closed.”  Adding to the problem is the city’s recent elimination of bail for property crimes.  “I’ve seen multiple individuals who have been arrested for burglary this year and then released the next day,” said the Chief.  Officials are also concerned about coronavirus-related releases of prison inmates, some of whom have already been arrested for committing crimes.  New York City is probably not the only place experiencing a jump in commercial burglaries.