Back on the Beat! 10 More Cops Walking The Neighborhood

Ten more police officers are now on patrol in Clinton Hill and Fort Greene after a rough 2010 that saw an uptick in several crime categories.

Multiple sources within the 88th Precinct said that the cops started walking the streets around mid-January, and that they would be deployed to maximize visibility.

“You’ll see them working the late shift mostly, from 4 p.m. to midnight,” a police source said.

The surge in police on foot patrol comes after an outcry from local residents alarmed by an increase in murders, rapes, robberies and grand larcenies last year compared to 2009.

“It’s fantastic, I’m glad the 88th Precinct sees the need for more police on the street,” said Paul Palazzo, the Chairman of the Fort Greene Association, which was involved in the push for more cops on the street. “Physical assault was a major safety concern.”

The cops will be primarily assigned to the sectors that have been the most prone to break-ins and robberies, a police source said.

But recently a pair of sexual assaults has raised the specter of a continuing uptick in crime, especially around the Atlantic Terminal Mall, which regularly appears in our police blotter.

Palazzo said that having more cops on the streets at around 3 p.m. during the week would be helpful, too.

“It tends to be a little raucous when the schools let out — there are so many in the neighborhood,” he said.

Palazzo added that he was hopeful the new cops on the street would also establish closer ties between police and locals.

“We need to reintegrate the cops back into our community culture,” he said. “This shouldn’t be about just applying the police when things are bad, but so that the community understand their role in local life.”

The NYPD's office of public information did not respond to a request for comment.