Abstract: Hempstead NY's police force copes with a daily influx of commuters and nightly gatherings of unruly youths, drug dealers and violent gangs. Policing this diverse community often seems an impossible task, one that is filled with danger for the officers.
Crime stats for just the first two months of 2008 (from the Hempstead PD)...
Murder - 3
Rape - 2
Robbery (with force or threat of force) - 21
Assault - 43
Burglary - 27
Larceny - 72
Sex Crimes - 3
Drug sales - 23
Prostitution - 12
All in only 59 days.
The Bloods, the Crips, Mara Salvatrucha all have a strong presence in Hempstead. The Salvadoran gang's first NY area chapter started in Hempstead.
Yep, just your regular Nassau County suburban bedroom community.
Oh, the Hempstead PD sees the above stats as a 24% drop over 2007.
The place is a sewer and you wouldn't raise any of your kids there on a bet.
It’s all quite beguiling, but (a) where is the link for this data and (b) where is the data for other LI communities?