Image via Crimereports.com.

There have been reports of multiple robberies and burglaries west of 43rd street, as the annual summer spike in street crime continues. Readers asked us about an increase in late night/early morning robberies and police confirmed that there were six gun point robberies over the past month in the area from 43rd to 48th, Pine Street to Chester Avenue.

There have also been many burglaries in the area in the recent weeks (see map image for robberies and burglaries in the past month). One of the reasons for that is that people leave their windows open in the summer, according to police, so please make sure to close your windows before leaving the house.

As it’s not unusual to see an uptick in crime during summer months it is still of concern, Joe Murray of the Southwest Police Detectives said in an email. We’ll keep a close look on the crime situation in the area and post updates when we have them.

A taxi driver was shot in the hand by a passenger Thursday night on the 200 block of S. Farragut Street, according to police. The incident happened shortly before 10 p.m. when the passenger pulled out a gun and announced a robbery after the cab stopped. The passenger was picked up at 48th and Baltimore and asked to be taken to 47th and Locust Streets, but when the taxi arrived at 47th and Locust he told the driver to turn down 200 S. Farragut St. and to let him out there. When the driver pulled over the passenger pulled out a black handgun, reached through the partition and pointed the handgun at the driver’s head, demanding money, police said. The driver, who worked for Freedom Taxi, grabbed the gun and a struggle ensued, during which the driver was shot and wounded in his right thumb and left index finger with a single shot.

After shooting the driver the passenger took his money, cell phone and car keys and fled south on Farragut Street. He ran into an alleyway and disappeared. The victim’s cell phone was later found on Farragut Street.

The cab driver was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for treatment and is expected to be okay.

Police are asking for public’s assistance in locating the suspect. He’s described as a black male, dark complexion, 28-32 years old, 5’9-6’00” tall, thin build, thick beard with mustache. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and carrying a black backpack.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact the Southwest Detectives Division (Lieutenant Walker or Joseph Murray) at 215-476-1131.

There were 44 serious crimes committed within West Philadelphia’s University City District (UCD) boundaries (river to 50th Street, Market to Woodland) last month, which is the highest since last October. These crimes include 24 robberies  – 12 armed robberies (six in April) and 12 robberies with no weapon (eight in April). There was a slight decrease in residential burglaries though in comparison to April – from 17 to 13. The University City District reports that 12 related arrests have already been made.

While the new crime data provided by UCD in their monthly crime update distributed to email subscribers is somewhat worrying, the increase in criminal activity is typical for warmer months and usually subsides when the weather gets too hot in the summer and in colder months. It is always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings at all times and to use a Walking Escort in the area to accompany you late at night or when you feel unsafe. UCD reminds that you can call 215-898-9255 or 215-387-3942 between 10 a.m. – 3 a.m. and a UCD Ambassador will be dispatched.

Last Friday, May 24, we reported about a robbery at Forman Mills at 48th and Market that happened that afternoon. There were four masked, armed suspects in that robbery. Today, police released information and surveillance photos and videos linking this robbery and group of robbers to a series of robberies (six so far) at various commercial properties in the city, dating back to April 19. The suspects in these robberies are still at large and police are asking for public’s assistance in identifying them.

Robbery at Little Caesar’s Pizza. (Photo via Philly Police Blog)

A few of the robberies were in West Philadelphia, including robberies at Little Caesar’s Pizza located at 5901 Lancaster Avenue on May 15 and at the Dollar General Store, 801 North 48th Street, on May 22.

For more information about the robberies, description of the suspects and surveillance videos, go to Philly Police Blog.

If you have any information about the robberies in West Philadelphia you are asked to contact the Southwest Police Detectives at 215-686-3183/3184.

This is an unfortunate incident that happened to a neighbor over Memorial Day weekend and a reminder to all neighbors to make sure you don’t leave any valuables, both money-wise and of personal value, on your porches. A neighbor, Mike, who lives on the 4400 block of Larchwood Ave reports that his camera bag with photo and video cameras and other equipment (all about $1200 worth) was stolen off his porch after he left it there by accident. Mike left his bag and some other items on their porch on Sunday night after he and his wife returned home from introducing their newborn baby to family. Photos and videos of the meeting were on the cameras.

The camera bag was stolen between 11:30 p.m. on Sunday and 3 p.m. on Monday when Mike discovered that it was missing: “I accidentally left some items on our front porch… Although most items were still there, someone stole my camera bag, complete with my Pentax K10D camera, Tamron AF18-250mm lens, external flash unit, and Kodak zi8 small handheld video camera. Also, miscellaneous batteries, 2 memory cards, a lens filter.”

Mike says that he filed a report with the police. “As you can imagine, we are upset about losing around $1200 worth of equipment. But we can’t replace photos and videos of our family meeting our baby,” he writes.

Update: The stolen cameras and lens are not very common, Mike adds, so if anyone sees them at a local resale, pawn or flea market, please call him 610-389-0985.

Some of our readers may remember a scam alert we published exactly two years ago of a young woman asking for money in the neighborhood because she said she had been abused by her husband and was looking for a domestic violence shelter. This past weekend we received another report of a female involved in the similar activity. Here’s what our reader, Elle, wrote:

“I got scammed big time by a woman who stopped me in the street (46th and Spruce) and asked me to help her find a domestic violence shelter. She had a really heartbreaking story about escaping from her abusive husband and she was trying to get to a “safety point.” I let her borrow my phone to call the hotline she said she’d been talking with earlier. After overhearing her conversation I ended up giving her (way too much) money to cover her fare to the safety point in the suburbs. I started getting suspicious after she left and checked the call log on my phone. None of the calls were longer than 10 seconds — she had been pretending to talk on the phone so I would overhear her plight and give her money. It’s a pretty despicable scam, but it worked really well.”

While the account we described in our post in 2011 hasn’t changed too much, this time the description of the woman is different. Elle said that it was “a middle aged white woman with dyed red hair, wearing a sweat suit.”

On Friday, May 10, a reader, Rachel, became a pickpocket victim at Honest Tom’s taco shop near 44th and Spruce. Rachel says that her wallet was stolen and that after talking to the owner, she discovered that she was “hit by a notorious West Philly pick pocket who is known by the alias ‘scarface’.” While we are waiting for a response to our police inquiry about this “well known” neighborhood thief, we wanted to alert other residents about this incident.