Drug Offense Arrests on the Rise, Other Crimes Down in Port Jeff

Although crime in most areas is down overall in Port Jefferson, drug offense arrests have been rising for three years, according to statistics acquired from the Suffolk County Police by Patch. Village Code also says that quality of life issues remain a problem in the village.

Between Jan. and Aug. of 2009 there were six reports of agravated assault in Port Jefferson village. In the same time period in 2010 there were a total of three and in 2011 that number went up to six again. Reports of larceny, motor vehicle thefts, burglary and robbery are down since last year as well.

Only in drug offenses has there been a dramatic increase over time in the number of arrests. In 2009 from Jan. to Aug. there were 12 arrests for drug offenses. In 2010 that number jumped to 31 in the same time period and this year there were 34 arrests.

There were no reported rapes or murders.

"Crime has been down in almost every category in this village," 6th Precinct  Police Sgt. Andy Gliganic told residents at a recent village board of trustees meeting.

Gliganic did not discuss drug offense arrest numbers during the meeting. Patch has requested to speak with a representative from the 6th Precinct specifically about crime in the area.

At the meeting Code Enforcement Chief Wally Tomaszewski addressed concerns about the number of complaints coming in to his office about house parties might help alleviate the problem.

The village and Suffolk County Police plan to meet on monthly basis to address concerns about other Quality of Life issues.

Trustee Laurence La Pointe said that he will be involved in the meetings as well. He said that "having gone through a summer with a lot of illegal activity downtown it’s time to start planning how they will address next summer’s season."

"Hopefully we’ll have a more peaceful summer as a result," La Pointe said.

Tomaszewski also reported on statistics from code enforcement for the month of September:

• 373 parking meter tickets were given out with about 10,000 to 15,000 people coming through the village.
• 102 field appearance tickets issued for quality of life issues that come with fines of up to $500.
• 153 complaint calls from public.

He also urged residents to dial 911 before calling village code.

“I want to emphasize again that residents should call Suffolk County Police first if there is a violation,” he said. “If you call code first it delays response. We’ll respond to assist but call 911 first.”

Crime Statistics for Port Jefferson Village*

* Data provided by Suffolk County Police Public Information Office.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said that the numbers listed from the Suffolk Police Department were arrests when they were reported crimes to police.