January 14, 2008

Police Step Up Enforcement in Hempstead Neighborhood

After uprooting more than 35 suspected drug dealers, Hempstead police department targets non-residents converging on neighborhood to buy drugs

MINEOLA, NY – Village of Hempstead Police Chief Joseph B. Wing and Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced this morning that Phase Two of a comprehensive crime reduction initiative launched last week targeting the most prolific open-air drug market in Nassau County has resulted in the arrests of 13 men and women who have been charged with attempting to purchase drugs on Terrace Avenue and Bedell Streets over the weekend.

The undercover stings targeted individuals converging on the neighborhood from other communities.  Of the 13 people arrested, 11 were from outside of the neighborhood, residing in communities like West Hempstead, Uniondale, Queens Village, Long Beach, Westbury, and other portions of the Village of Hempstead, according to Police Chief Wing.

Last week, District Attorney Rice and Police Chief Wing received widespread community support for launching an initiative aimed at removing the drug market located in the county’s most crime-plagued neighborhood.  After arresting more than 20 suspected drug dealers and diverting a dozen more to social service programs, the next phase of the initiative targets anyone stepping in to fill their shoes who are suspected selling drugs in the neighborhood and also those converging on the neighborhood to purchase drugs.

“My department is committed to helping our community take this neighborhood back,” said Police Chief Wing.  “We will not stop thinking ‘outside the box’ when it comes to keeping people safe and keeping drugs out of our neighborhoods.  We have uprooted the dealers and now we are going after the people who keep them in business and the non-residents who prey on this neighborhood.”

Also put to use this weekend as part of this unprecedented crime reduction crack down were license plate readers used by Village of Hempstead police officers to identify out-of-village automobiles driving through the neighborhood.  If an automobile is identified by the police department as being registered to an owner outside of the Village of Hempstead, the owner receives a letter making him or her aware of the high-intensity drug investigation and the police department’s knowledge of their automobile’s presence in the area.  Rice said the measure was aimed primarily at out-of-village dealers and buyers; as well parents who may not realize their children are using the family automobile to purchase drugs in the neighborhood.

A total of 84 non-Hempstead automobiles were identified by law enforcement on the streets of the neighborhood this weekend.

“We are going to help this community take the neighborhood back,” said Rice.  “We are cracking down on the drug dealing and that means uprooting the dealers and enforcing a zero-tolerance approach.  That also means targeting the out-of-town buyers who prey on this community.”

Those arrested this weekend face the charge of Attempted Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and one year of probation.

Overtime pay for police officers involved in this initiative is being paid for by the District Attorney’s forfeiture fund.  Forfeiture monies are funds collected by the District Attorney from defendants convicted of crimes.