Parking Committee (ad hoc) - Remington Nevin – He has been working with William White on restarting the Parking Committee efforts. The goal is to improve parking conditions in our neighborhood.
Flea Markets – Save the date – May 10th
Streetscape Committee – Connie Brines – The January meeting will be off-cycle on the 21st.
Crime Prevention Committee – Carolyn Boitnott – They meet the 3rd Wednesday of each month at her house. They need block captains. If you are interested, please contact Carolyn.
Education Committee – Carolyn Boitnott – School 27 needs volunteers on Monday, March 3rd to read Dr. Seuss books to the students. Also needs volunteers during the first two weeks in April to proctor the state tests. If you are interested, please contact Carolyn.
He has been working in the SE district since 2001, as major since January, 2006.
Since June, 2006 crime statistics have been going down.
His goal is that “we want to build a community relationship”. To accomplish this he has several initiatives in progress:
- Increase foot patrol in the neighborhoods
- Someone from Operations will do a walk-around the neighborhood – someone in each of the three shifts. The meeting location and date will be announced. Anyone interested in joining the officer can meet at that spot and walk around to point out problem areas/people in the neighborhood. This will happen once every other month (or more frequently if there is lots of interest).
Crime statistics in Butchers Hill for last year - 2007:
- This is one of the safest neighborhoods in the city
- 1 murder (he was not a nice guy)
- 1 non-fatal shooting
- 1 robbery at the Ken-Ten
- 2 robberies at the Life of Reilly’s.
- There is a new Robbery Squad – they caught one guy believe to be part of a robbery gang (he was carrying a Hopkins cell phone). He led the squad to a group of 17 other guys.
- Total of 15 robberies in the neighborhood last year (3 were unfounded).
- 2 with a firearm
- 1 with a knife
- 2 with “other” weapons
- 4 commercial
- 1 residential
If you are a victim of a crime you have the right to have the police come take your report. They may request that you come to the police station to look at pictures to help identify the criminal.
This city leads in robbery arrests because the patrols respond quickly to them. They communicate with each other to close off avenues of escape and to scope out the area.
- 4 aggravated assaults – all domestic-related
- 9 burglaries – 7 are open, 2 have been closed
- 18 stolen autos – mostly kids going for a spin
- Larceny from auto and larceny from bike – caused by homeless people and addicts from surrounding areas
If interested, anyone in the neighborhood can go on a ride-along with one of the patrol officers.
Questions:
To what degree do car alarms and house alarms help?
Answer: People in the neighborhoods are desensitized to the sound of car alarms so they are less effective than they might be otherwise. However, the police will check if they hear one, so it is a good idea. Home alarms are also a good idea, despite the high number (and cost) of false alarms.
Is Lojack effective in the city?
Answer: A majority of the police cars (all of them in the SE District) do not have it so they wouldn’t be able to “see” if a car was stolen. The best car theft deterrent is stick shift because the thieves don’t know how to drive a car with it.
What about drug activity in the neighborhood?
Answer: The neighborhood community reps do a good job making sure that he knows the people and the addresses related to drug activity. They are working on it. It is definitely here, but much less than other neighborhoods.
What do muggers look for in the victims?
Answer: Cell phones. You should never walk and talk at the same time. Other items are purses and wallets.
Are there areas in the district that are more crime-ridden than ours? And do you have suggestions for going to those other areas?
Answer: Yes, there are areas that are more crime-ridden. Stay out of the park. It is closed at night. Go around, not through it. Also, walk on lit streets.
If anyone from the police department ever tells you, “That’s what you get for living in the city.” tell the major right away.
What’s the deal with the helicopters?
Answer: They are city-wide helicopters, not district. They are used to follow/track cars, look for people that have committed crimes, etc.
