Source:
@nypdtips
/
Instagram
The
New
York
Police
Department
is
actively
searching
for
a
pair
of
robbers
using
mopeds
as
they
accosted
victims
in
Manhattan
last
month.
On
Wednesday
(January
3),
representatives
for
the
New
York
Police
Department
said
that
they
were
actively
searching
for
two
men
who
were
riding
a
dark-colored
moped
as
they
robbed
victims
in
Manhattan
last
December.
The
incidents
took
place
on
December
15
and
18.
According
to
their
reports,
the
first
of
the
incidents
occurred
on
the
15th
in
the
Midtown
area
at
First
Avenue
and
52nd
Street
as
the
pair
rode
up
alongside
a
38-year-old
woman.
They
snatched
her
purse
from
her
forcefully,
causing
her
to
fall.
The
pair
then
sped
off,
according
to
witnesses.
On
the
18th,
the
pair
set
out
on
a
longer
spree
of
robberies
over
nearly
three
hours
in
Midtown
starting
at
7:40
P.M.
as
they
robbed
three
more
women
between
the
ages
of
22
and
40.
The
spree
ended
as
the
two
attempted
to
rob
a
man
in
his
thirties.
The
news
comes
as
similar
incidents
have
become
more
frequent
in
the
city
since
2022.
Last
October
alone,
there
were
multiple
incidents
numbering
over
two
dozen
in
Manhattan
and
in
the
boroughs
of
Queens
and
Brooklyn
involving
theft
by
robbers
on
mopeds
and
e-bikes.
The
prevalence
of
these
incidents
has
also
occupied
space
on
the
NYPD’s
Crime
Stoppers
Instagram
account
recently,
with
posts
capturing
the
thieves
atop
mopeds
and
scooters.
Despite
those
instances,
the
city
did
report
a
9.7%
drop
in
robberies
during
November
2023
when
compared
to
the
same
period
the
year
before.
There
were
no
published
statistics
for
December.
NYPD
Chief
of
Patrol
John
Chell
stated
at
the
news
conference
held
at
One
Police
Plaza
that
the
department
had
seized
over
27,000
illegal
ATVs
and
unregistered
mopeds
last
year
as
part
of
a
focus
on
quality
of
life
enforcement,
up
from
18,000
in
2022.
In
response
to
the
news,
Mayor
Eric
Adams
displayed
elation.
“The
results
are
clear
—
crime
is
down,
jobs
are
up,
tourism
is
back,”
Adams
said.
“But
our
work
is
not
done.
We’re
not
spiking
the
ball.
We’re
not
saying,
‘Mission
Accomplished.’”
