Nassau County Police Create Task Force After Dramatic Rise In Burglaries

MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A rise in burglaries in Nassau County has prompted the creation of a new police task force to stem the outbreak.

CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reports the crimes have been plaguing affluent communities and it's been fueled by drug addiction.

There has been a 28 percent burglary spike in Nassau County, and in the second precinct alone, residential break-ins are up 57 percent.

"My door was kicked in. I walked into my room, it was a complete mess, just turned upside-down," Vincent Ferrera of Syosset told CBS2. "I felt violated. It wasn't a good feeling at all."

Vanessa Nicole of Mineola found her home burglarized after getting back home from work.

"It was really scary. I was out after work, and I came home and the gate and the door were open, and your heart just starts to race and I rant the other way," Nicole told CBS2.

At this same time last year, there were 134 residential burglaries in Nassau County. This year, there's been 174 so far.

To help combat the break-ins, the Nassau County Police created a burglary pattern task force.

"When you get a burglary on your block, a lot of people think, 'I hope I'm not next.' We get that, we understand it and had to do something about it," Chief of Detectives Kevin Smith said. "We've put this team in place. I can honestly tell you, four great detectives and a supervisor who work with precinct squads and work with village detectives as well."

The task force already arrested suspect Mamuka Bokuchava and charged him with 17 Nassau burglaries. Bokuchava worked as a waiter at Cipriani in Manhattan.

Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds of the Family and Children's Association believes the motivation behind these burglaries is drug-fueled.

"There is no doubt in my mind that the heroin crisis is what's driving the increase in crime here in Nassau County," Reynolds told CBS2. "This disease is now touching everybody in very personal ways. It also affects community as a whole. This is a community locked in the grip of addiction that hasn't been treated appropriately."

In most cases, police say burglars are avoiding confrontations, striking at homes during the day or eearly evening that are unoccupied, unlocked, or without alarms.

Police say the burglaries are also being committed by professionals, impostors passing themselves off as utility workers, as well as gang members.