http://nassaunews.org/news/2007/05/looking_inside_hempstead_and_g_1.html
Hempstead, NY, a town with a population of 56,554 that is 74 percent of its residents being non-white, according to citytowninfo.com, has a reputation as a home to crime, and to fugitives. From sex offenders to gangs, this town doesn’t sound all to welcoming. But is this reputation true, and if it is, what is the biggest threat to the community?
The major type of crime that is reported in Hempstead is larceny according to Inspector Vincent Neefus of the Hempstead Police Department. “Larceny is our biggest concern,” said Neefus. “But this year it was down 24 percent for the first quarter, most of our crime is down a lot recently.”
But despite that the decline in larceny in Hempstead doesn’t mean that the statistics look good compared to other villages. “Twenty-four percent here is good in Hempstead, but not in Garden City,” Neefus told Nassau News.
Neefus also said that some of the larceny and motor-vehicle theft reported in Hempstead is due to insurance fraud or false reports.
“If people lose their cell phone in the mall or some other place they’ll come to Hempstead to report that they lost it here. The insurance company is more likely to believe that they lost it here,” said Neefus. “Also, with motor vehicle theft, people will come from New York City and will come into Hempstead and say they parked on a main street and now their car is gone. It’s really insurance fraud because they’ve already sold the car and now they’re filing a claim with the insurance company.”
While gang crime is present in Hempstead, it is hard to measure how prevalent it actually is.
“Gang activity is hard to measure because people don’t walk around with a gang symbol on their backs when they are committing crimes,” said Neefus. “Gang related crimes are hard to put you finger on.”
When asked about the 26 registered sex offenders that are currently living in the area according to citydata.com, (a ratio of 1 offender for 2175 Hempstead residents), Neefus replied that Hempstead gets a lot of criminals who committed their crimes in other towns.
“Hempstead is a dumping ground. These people need a place to live and go to social services. It is easier for them [social services] to find affordable rentals here,” said Neefus. “There is an overflow of people, some who, for example, might have committed their crimes in Suffolk County, but social services is unable to house people securely there.”
Though Neefus did say that problems like this depend on a case by case basis, “if you commit a crime in Garden City, and are wealthy, you can most likely go back and be a sex offender in Garden City. If you are an alien and already living on the edge of society, then you are most likely going to be housed in a place that you can afford to live.”
As far as sexual assaults go in Hempstead the village is doing pretty well. “Sexual assaults are few and far between. They are down 83 percent from this year to the last,” said Neefus.
So it appears that Hempstead’s reputation, while being founded in some truth, isn’t as bad as it seems.
Now compare Hempstead to one of the other towns that sandwiches Hofstra, Garden City, a village that has a population of about 21,672, with 94.2 percent of its residents being classified as white, according to citytowninfo.com.
The major crimes and highest arrest rates in Garden City are that of larceny, burglary, D.W.I., and Aggravated Unlicensed driving offenses. The town currently has no registered sex offenders according to citydata.com.
And, according to the 2006 Garden City Police Department Annual Report, there were only five assaults and no forcible rapes or murder-manslaughters reported to the FBI in 2006. In total, 324 crimes were reported, with 270 of those being larceny.
http://www.city-data.com/city
Races in Hempstead:
- Black (52.5%)
- Hispanic (31.8%)
- Other race (15.2%)
- White Non-Hispanic (13.2%)
- Two or more races (4.7%)
- American Indian (1.4%)
- Asian Indian (0.5%)
(Total can be greater than 100% because Hispanics could be counted in other races)
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For population 25 years and over in Hempstead
- High school or higher: 66.6%
- Bachelor's degree or higher: 16.0%
- Graduate or professional degree: 6.5%
- Unemployed: 7.0%
- Mean travel time to work: 32.4 minutes
For population 15 years and over in Hempstead village
- Never married: 45.6%
- Now married: 37.3%
- Separated: 5.1%
- Widowed: 5.8%
- Divorced: 6.2%
18,769 residents are foreign born (30.5% Latin America).
| This village: |
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| New York: |
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33.2%
20.4%
According to our research there were 26 registered sex offenders living in Hempstead, New York in early 2007.
The ratio of number of residents in Hempstead to the number of sex offenders is 2028 to 1.
The number of registered sex offenders compared to the number of residents in this village is near the state average.
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units in 2000:
| Hempstead: |
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| New York: |
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3.2% ($5,260)
1.9% ($2,847)
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