Frequently dubbed one of the safest parts of the Metropolitan Area, Nassau County has been plagued by a surge of home invasions, robberies, and car thefts, leaving residents on edge.
After larcenies increased by 154% robberies shot up by 143%, and vehicle theft skyrocketed up 155% from 2021 to the beginning of 2023, the Nassau county police needed to get creative.
In a rare joint press conference, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced “a multi-jurisdictional burglary and stolen car task force” between the Nassau, Suffolk, and State Police, the District Attorney, the NYPD, and the FBI in a renewed effort to fight this crime.
However, many residents are still feeling vulnerable.
“I think we have a very false sense of security in Manhasset,” said robbery victim Alexandra Colombos. “You want to be able to come and go comfortably from your house, but that’s not the reality we’re living in.”
Memorial Day weekend, Colombos returned home from walking her dog to find that a team of men had scaled the side of her house, climbed up to the second floor balcony, broke in, and ransacked her bedroom and bathroom for valuables- stealing $125,000 worth of jewelry.
The scariest part…the house was full of people. “The entire house had lights on except for my bedroom and bathroom. There were cars in the front and clearly there were people home” said Colombos.
Nassau County Chief of Police Patrick Ryder has seen enough. “We’re flooding the area,” he said in a Joint Press Conference on February 5th. “I don’t care what this is costing, I need it to stop.”
Thus, the task force plans to incorporate new technology and real-time intelligence sharing.
“We’ve put a ton of resources along with sharing license plate readers from our partners. You have extra bodies, extra technology, you have extra intelligence sharing, and we have bigger partners across different lines” said Ryder.
Manhasset Public School Board of Education President Steven Panzik feels that residents rely heavily on the police department to keep them safe. However, he urges students and parents to stay alert and hold themselves accountable.
“Times have changed,” Panzik speculated. “The biggest thing as a community is for us to be aware- don’t take things for granted. Whether it’s as simple as locking doors, taking your keys out of your cars, or not leaving key fobs in the kitchen.”
