Incidents of grand larceny have more than doubled on Staten Island in the first week of January 2017, compared to that same time frame in January 2016.
"It's scary because I hadn't heard of it," one resident said. "I've always felt safe around here, been here since 2000, and I've never heard that."
Police were called to 32 reports of grand larceny from January 1 through January 8 so far this year.
According to New York State law, grand larceny means theft of anything above $1,000.
About one-third of the grand larcenies involved credit card and bank account fraud.
In one instance last Sunday, police said two people took wallets and cash from a laundromat on Broad Street. Both took off, and police are still looking for them.
Then, on January 6, a wallet was stolen from the Starbucks on Victory Boulevard in Meiers Corners.
According to an NYPD crime map, the majority of the incidents occurred in or near the Island's north shore.
Since the start of the new year, officers also responded to reports of six car thefts, also in the northern half of the borough.
Police said about 25 percent of the grand larcenies reported in this week involve thefts from motorcycles, which also includes the tires.
Other grand larcenies reported last week involved stolen items from cars, stores, restaurants and even an apartment. On January 2, about $5,000 worth of jewelry was reported stolen from an apartment on Woodcrest Road in Graniteville.
People say they hope the problem is taken care of soon.
"More cops on the streets, more cops on patrols, in tough areas, in Richmond and stuff like that," one woman said.
"We have security cameras on our house because we have mischevious happenings of eggs being thrown and such," another Staten Island woman said. "So we invested in that, which will help with any other crime like grand larceny or breaking in."
In late December, District Attorney Mike McMahon said his office is working to decrease numbers and ultimately get the bad guys off the streets.