Harfleur was incorporated in the early 1950s in a period of post-war urban growth, a residential area which quickly lost its initial affluence as the suburbs grew and attracted the successful urban middle class. It is now an area of high crime rates, high unemployment, and low income. It is divided into several distinct neighborhoods along primarily cultural and ethnic lines. The largest communities are Haitian and African-American in origin, with a significant Puerto Rican population in the western blocks.

Major known criminal elements include a Jamaican gang or "posse" known as the Third Court Warriors, another gang which claims affiliation with the Bloods of Los Angeles, and several known narcotics dealers. Fights between the Harfleur gangs are infrequent but bloody.

Officer Leroy Lemonde of the New York City Police Department is the community policing liason for Harfleur. Special Agent Jessica Morgan of the DEA is responsible for local investigations and coordination with the Queens County Narcotics Task Force.