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Friday, April 5, 2024
Vol. 10, No. 14
PortWashingtonTimes BLAKEMAN SEEKS ARMED DEPUTY SHERIFFS
FLOWER HILL TO RAISE TAXES 14%
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Major crime continues to fall in Nassau
S C I E N C E O LY M P I A D S
County police department website shows a 10.43% decrease in January Nassau County crime is apparently down in the first month of the year with double-digit drops in total major crimes throughout the county and in the 3rd and 6th Precincts. The Nassau County Police’s crime statistics reporting database, known as Strat-Com, provided updated crime data on the department’s website that shows crime rates from Jan. 1 through Jan. 29 of the year. It also compares the crime statistics to the same period in 2023. While the dataset states the statistics are for these periods, there are date discrepancies in the provided statistical graphs. Efforts to reach the Nassau County Police for clarification were unavailing. In January, total major crimes were down 10.43% county-wide. All other crimes in the county diminished by 13.77% during this period compared to the year prior, constituting a 12.9% drop in all crimes. Overall, 481 major crimes and 1,328 other crimes were reported throughout the county in January, adding up to a total of 1,809 crimes. In January of 2023, a total of 2,077 crimes were reported in the county.
Seven of the eight county precincts reported drops in major crime rates in January. This county-wide drop in crime coincides with an overall 6.46% decrease in major crimes over the first 11 months of 2023, showing a continued trend of crime rates dropping since the 41% spike in 2022. Before this decline, major crimes increased by 38% from 2019-2022. In New York City, crime also decreased in January by an overall 2.9%. Most major crime categories reported reductions, including a 25% drop in murders, a 24.4% in reported rapes and a 19.8% decrease in burglaries. January crime data for Suffolk County was not immediately available. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman attributed the 2023 drop in Nassau County’s crimes to his administration’s financial investments in the county police department and intelligence-led policing strategies in a mailer. Blakeman ran his 2021 election campaign on a platform that included calls for addressing the rise in crime in the county, with many other local Republican campaigns using the issue as a campaign talking point. Continued on Page 43
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PORT WASHINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
Weber Middle School sent two Science Olympiad Academic Teams to compete in science and technology events. They will now compete at the state level.
Port draft budget would surpass tax cap by 1.16% BY S A M U E L S C H U LT Z
In February, the Port Washington School District proposed a 2024The Port Washington School Dis- 2025 rollover budget that included trict proposed a 2024-2025 school a 6.8% increase from the current year budget that would require 60% budget. During Tuesday’s Board of Eduvoter approval by the community to cation meeting Assistant Superinoverride the tax cap by 1.16%.
BEST OF
10TH ANNUAL
2024
BY C A M E RY N O A K ES
NASSAU
COUNTY WWW.THEISLAND360.COM/CONTEST2024
vote
tendent for Business Kathleen Manuel printed the district’s official draft budget. The 2024-2025 proposed budget calls for $194,578,217 in spending, about a 5.6%, or $10,312,922, Continued on Page 44
NOW THROUGH MAY 24
WHO WILL BE THE FAVORITES IN 2024? https://theisland360.com/bonscontest/