Police Inspector Says Crime Down in Third Precinct

Crime reports in the Third Precinct are down this year over last year according to Nassau County Police Inspector Kevin Canavan, who was the guest speaker at the Mineola Chamber of Commerce meeting Tuesday night at . 

"When I came to this command last year, we had enjoyed in the county the lowest crime rate in over 42 years,” Canavan said. “The crime rate had continually gone down. It was a pretty tough act to follow.” Eleven months into 2010, Canavan said that in terms of total overall crime, the precinct is down 13-percent down from “our lowest level in 42 years last year.” Major crimes are down about another six- percent. "Everything is going the right away,” Canavan said.

According to the Inspector, the Third Precinct, the largest command in Nassau County, has a pro-active, pro-arrest policy. "We really toughened up our stance in a lot of different areas," he said. "We're making our uniform guys much more accountable than they were under the past commanding officers.” Arrests are up by about seven-percent over last year. “With the crime rate going down, our overtime has been kept in check," Canavan said.

Four years ago, police coverage in Mineola was a major issue. In December 2006, residents of the village had the opportunity to vote on a referendum to create a village police force after proponents of the measure argued that Mineola did not receive enough police coverage. Residents overwhelmingly turned the measure down.

Canavan stated that Mineola is currently covered by two police squad cards — 310 and 311 — and vehicles from the surrounding areas can come into the village if needed. 

The Inspector added that he has an "open door" policy with respect to helping the community. Canavan said he can be reached at either 516-573-6341 or 516-314-5556. "If you have an issue, please give me a call," he said.

The Inspector next took questions from chamber members. Mineola Chamber of Commerce President Ray Sikorski asked Canavan about the red light cameras the county has installed which take pictures of motorists going through red traffic lights at specific intersections such as Old Country Road and Glen Cove Road. The owner of the vehicle would receive a ticket in the mail. 

Canavan said that the county is due for the installation of a third wave of cameras. "Red light cameras are obviously a money-maker for the county; it's kind of an uncontestable thing," he said, adding, "the police department has absolutely nothing to do with those summonses. It's an outside agency that runs the cameras; it's a company in Ohio."

Past chamber president Steve Ford, owner of , inquired about graffiti, saying there were two incidents of graffiti at his store this year. Canavan said that one officer, Kevin Sikorski, deals with vandalism. "He'll take graffiti cases; he'll bring them over to the gang squad,” Canavan said. “He's usually pretty good at hunting down who does graffiti in the area.”

Another question posed to the inspector was whether the Third Precinct has been affected by budget cuts. Canavan responded by saying he has had no loss of manpower in the precinct. "I still have my full compliment of police officers," he said. "The thing about it is the bad guys are getting more creative and we have to be more creative."