The city’s biggest crime spike is taking place behind bars.
A 146 percent surge in felony assaults last month in The Bronx’s 41st Precinct is due to a raging gang war at Rikers Island, say police and jail sources.
The number of assaults spiked to 106 in November, up from 43 in the same month last year, according to stats kept by the NYPD, which logs Rikers attacks at the 41st.
The increase coincides with a series of clashes at Rikers’ George R. Vierno Center (GRVC) that began months ago after Correction honchos began housing Trinitario gang members in a unit previously designated only for Crips, sources said.
“They’re at war,” said one Rikers insider. “For the last 30 years, Crips have always been separated — everyone wants to beat up the Crips. But because more Trinitarios started getting locked up, they’re now throwing them in this one area. And, of course, the Trinitarios are getting abused. They can’t use the phone. They can’t watch TV. They can’t get food.”
Jails bosses decided to try to even out the numbers so neither gang had an advantage, the source said.
“In this one housing unit, they had about 20 of each, and the Trinitarios started to feel brave,” he said.
Trouble erupted Aug. 5 in the chow line when a Crip refused to be served food by a Trinitario, who took offense, two sources said. A melee ensued, with more than 50 members of the gangs fighting one another with sticks, knives and fists for 45 minutes.
GRVC was also the scene of a bloody riot on Nov. 29 pitting Bloods against Crips.
A Correction spokesman said some of the crime increase was due to a new reporting system requiring that assaults be logged whenever there is a complaint. Previously, only attacks resulting in an arrest went on the books, he said.
The spokesman said the number of assaults on correction officers rose to 139 in October and November of this year, from 119 in the same two months in 2012.
“The majority of assaults result in no injury to the officer or minor injury requiring no more than topical treatment,” he said in a written statement.