American Notes CRIME

First it was fancy sneakers, then stylish sunglasses. These days World War II- style leather bomber jackets, valued at up to $300, are the booty of choice for the discriminating young thief in the chilly Northeast. In Boston some 40 incidents have involved bomber jackets. New York City has also seen a rash of ) jacket crimes. But Newark has been hardest hit, with 78 jacket robberies in January alone, 56 of them involving deadly weapons. The Newark police have formed a special jacket unit, some of whose members don models from among the confiscated supply and walk the streets, hoping to tempt those they call "dive bombers" to action.