Mayor: Crime Dropped 26 Percent In Village Of Hempstead

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Crime has dropped in the Village of Hempstead on Long Island.

As WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported, the village has been known for its high crime rate in the past, but authorities have been working hard to change those numbers.

Mayor Wayne Hall said thanks to a number of programs, crime has gone down 26 percent.

"And the things that we implemented in the village, such as the shots fired technology with the license plate reading that we are about to buy more of, targeting those hot spots," he said.

At a toy exchange held on Wednesday, Hempstead school kids were able to turn in toy guns and were given toy guns in return.

The President of Hempstead Schools, Lamont Johnson, said the goal of the exchange was to change the culture starting with little kids.

Toys used during the exchange were donated by Jean Shafiroff.

"The message is that it's not cool to shoot," she told 1010 WINS' Carol d'Auria.

Jayden Summers, 7, didn't have a toy gun to exchange, but he received a gift anyway. In the spirit of Christmas he said he didn't plan on keeping the toy.

"I plan on donating them to homeless people and giving them more opportunities to get more toys," he said.

Mayor Hall said burglaries have declined from 503 incidents to 387 and violent crime has dropped from 369 incidents to 315. He also attributed the decrease in crime to working with other law enforcement agencies, including the county, federal government and district attorney's office.