Thirty-seven murders were reported within the boundaries of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South (PBBS) from January 1st through July 14th, 2013. During the same time period in 2012, seven fewer were reported.
In New York City overall, murders are at their lowest point, just as they were last year. PBBS--which includes Kensington's 66th Precinct and Windsor Terrace's 72nd Precinct--is the only one of New York City's eight regions to record an increase in homicides, as displayed on the map above.
PBBS' thirteen precincts are the 60th, 61st, 62nd, 63rd, 66th, 67th, 68th, 69th, 70th, 71st, 72nd, 76th, and 78th. The murder increase can be traced to five precincts; one of them is the 71st, with six homicides, all involving guns. In areas where homicides have increased, more officers
have been sent.
The commanding officer of PBBS from July 2011 to April 26, 2013, was Thomas M. Chan, who grew up in a city housing project--the Alfred E. Smith Houses on the Lower East Side. Chan had succeeded Joseph Fox, who had been the commander for eleven years.
When Police Commissioner Ray Kelly promoted Chan to Chief of the NYPD's Community Affairs Bureau in April, he said that murders in PBBS had decreased by 31% during Chan's last year there, "driven by a 28% reduction in shootings and a 24%
decline in shooting victims."