Colonial Place / Riverview Crime Prevention Committee
Concerned about CRIME in our neighborhood?
Committee Chair: Tara Sheldon
Contact her email at tara@tarasart.net
Committee Meetings: Fourth Monday of the month at 6:30pm. Contact Sheila Janes for location. Open to all.
2006 Crime Prevention Committee Accomplishments
What you can do to help:
- Attend Crime Prevention committee meetings
- Join the Neighborhood Listserv
- Join the Neighborhood Watch
- Report gunfire
- Report all suspicious activity, vandalism, crimes, or crimes in progress by calling one of these numbers
- Report grafitti
- Participate in the Norfolk Police Department Citizens Police Academy
- Report code violations
- Report street lights out
- Criminal information websites
- Broader solutions to crime
- Crime Prevention meeting reports
- City Council contact information
- Norfolk Crime Line--Anonymous Information
- Turn on your front door light
- Engrave your valuables
Crime Prevention Committee Meetings (open to all) are held the fourth Monday of the month at 6:30pm at Stuart Center School. Please come and hear our neighborhood crime report, get a chance to talk with our neighborhood PACE Officer, and help us strategize on ways to keep our neighborhood safe. Neighborhood Watch Block Captains are encouraged to attend on a regular basis. See our Crime Flyer.
Join the Neighborhood Listserv
Join the Neighborhood Listserv. This tool serves a useful purpose of widely disseminating information that can be very beneficial in curbing crime. Don't overlook the archives--available to listserv members only. Those on the listserv would be doing the community a great service if they would identify neighbors who do not have access and inform them ASAP of crime alerts.
CPRV EMAIL LIST POLICY STATEMENTThe CPRV mailing list exists for the use and enjoyment of the Colonial Place/Riverview community. Its primary purpose is to facilitate the sharing of information relevant to the neighborhood community it serves. Posts to the list are considered to be "on topic" when the content of the message has value or relevance to the CPRV community specifically.
The CPRV mailing list is not moderated. This does not mean that "anything goes". It simply means that nobody will review your post prior to distribution to the list participants. You message will go to many people fairly rapidly. So please consider exercising courtesy and restraint when posting your message to the entire group. "Off topic" and inherently divisive messages should be avoided. Self-serving commercial, political, religious, or vulgar messages; jokes; personal attacks; spam, are all specifically discouraged as they are directly contrary to the mailing list's primary purpose.
Join the Neighborhood Watch
For over 30 years, the Neighborhood Watch Program has provided Americans a unique safety infrastructure that brings together local officials, law enforcement and citizens for the protection of communities. The National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) took this crime prevention concept a step further by making it a national initiative--the National Neighborhood Watch Program.
Join your neighbors and P.A.C.E. officers in developing strategies for preventing crime in our neighborhood. Block Captains compile lists of neighbors and send out alerts. If interested in volunteering contact Sheila Janes. Riverview residents may also contact Audrey Webb (phone: 623-1197).
Report all suspicious activity, vandalism, crimes, or crimes in progress by calling one of these numbers
If you spot suspicious activity or a crime in progress, DO NOT WAIT! Call for police assistance IMMEDIATELY.
Non-emergency number: 441-5610 when you see suspicious behavior.
Emergency: 911
Word Processing: 664-7038 when a police officer is not needed. Reports to this number add to evidence that may be used to convict a criminal.
Red Sector PACE Officer Curtis Jackson: phone 831-3484 or email CJackson0140@cox.net
Red Sector PACE Officer Kari Horne: phone 739-8994 or email kari.horne@norfolk.gov
Anytime you call, whether it's the non-emergency or emergency number, the police are supposed to send a car to that location. If you don't like the response you're getting from the dispatcher, ask to speak to the supervisor on duty. There should always be one. You can also ask for the dispatcher's badge/operator ID number if you want to report or identify who you spoke to in reference to your situation. It's always a good idea to ask for that information.
Also, ask if there is a car in the vicinity and when one is expected to arrive. Stress the issues we've been dealing with lately in our community and why you are so concerned.
Shift changes means there are fewer cars on the street. If the police overlapped/staggered shift changes by a couple of hours that might alleviate the issue of having fewer officers around the times there are shift changes. You can believe that criminals know when the shifts change and plan accordingly.
If you see this strange activity, even during the day, please notify the police through the non-emergency line (441-5610) first, and then make a report on the listserv. This will enable other residents to be on the look out. When you call the non-emergency number request that a report be made. If you do not do this the incident will not show up on our crime statistics
Report Graffiti
There has been a noticeable increase in graffiti being spotted in and around our neighborhood. Grime breeds crime, and we should not tolerate graffiti artists tagging our beautiful neighborhood. If we allow our neighborhood to be a graffiti target, it shows that we don’t care and aren’t willing to take action against crime. Please be alert, and if you see someone with a spray paint can in their hands by stop signs, post boxes, telephone poles, and power boxes, please report them to the Police Non-Emergency Number at 441-5610. Graffiti removal can be requested by calling 664-5600, option #3. Also, James Hoy, Colonial Place resident, has volunteered to be our new Neighborhood Graffiti Coordinator. He will take photos and log reports of graffiti, and help follow up on the “tag” art being removed. Please notify James of your graffiti report at jbhoyva@yahoo.com.
Participate in the Norfolk Police Department Citizens Police Academy
Norfolk Police Department Citizens Police Academy: Register now for the next session, which runs from March 30 through June 15, 2006. If you live or work in Norfolk, you are eligible to submit an application for the Citizen’s Academy. Other requests will be reviewed based upon request. The Citizen’s Academy is sponsored by the Norfolk Police Department and is FREE. Each applicant must consent to a criminal background check.
Report Code Violations
Codes Enforcement: 664-4789 or email: clarence.satchell@norfolk.gov
Our area Inspector is Russell Masten: email--russell.masten@norfolk.gov
Environmental Concerns: 683-2712
Zoning Concerns: 664-4789
Photo Link to Properties under Discussion by the Committee
http://www.tidewatertype2.com/CPRV/ - This is a link to some pics taken of the properties at and close to the Colley Avenue / 38th Street intersection.
- The first three pictures across are of the apartments behind the 7-Eleven. Their trash day is Thursday. These pictures were taken Monday. Of the twin apartment buildings, the one to the right is where the drive by shooting took place and where the children were injured.
- Pictures 4 and 5 across are of the 38th Street playground - of course void of children. Who would take their children to play there with all the crime and flying bullets?
- Picture 6 and 7 across are of the apartment buildings across from the Church with a Colley Avenue address. These apts. are being renovated. They will move from having 5 separate apartments inside them to 2 condos.
- The second row pictures are mainly of the house that sits on the corner of 38th and Colley. You are looking at trash piled up on the front porch and the trash piled up in the back yard. No wonder rodents are a nuisance in this area. I'm also curious, with the front porch covered with bulk trash and the back door boarded up, if the fire inspector should be included in on this letter. The dozens of paint cans and trash piled high is of concern for both environmental health and codes enforcement. I believe the fire inspector has the authority to go in immediately if there is a violation and check out the whole house.
- The second picture in the third row is of the house to the left of the yellow apartments. This house is boarded up with broken windows. Trash is piled up on the porch. Why should anyone have to look out their backyard from Colonial Place and have to see this mess?
- The grey apartment building on the same side of the street as the park at 38th Street was most interesting. There is not a picture up here, but this building was boarded up on the bottom floor all around. There wasn't a placard sign on the door, but when you stood on the sidewalk and looked up through the window on the third floor to where the ceiling would be, you found yourself looking up at the sky. There is no roof on this building! There is no ceiling on the third floor. Just an assortment of boards.
I am working on getting a hold of e-mail addresses for the different areas of enforcements. Also, it appears that Park Place does have to follow the occupancy permit program, so it will be interesting to find out if all these occupied apartments have pulled an occupancy permit.
I’ve called the City and they informed me the Noise Ordinance is in effect after 9:00 PM and before 7:00 AM (you are free to make noise between 7am and 9pm). They further informed me, to file a complaint to call the Police. The police are required to witness the noise and then write a formal complaint and handle it from there.
More (a lot MORE) info can be found in the City Code, Chapter 26 I pulled this paragraph quickly:
(d)When a noise source can be identified and its noise measured in more than one district classification, the limits of the most restrictive classification shall apply, except for the following:
(1)Sound created by the operation of mobile power equipment, such as power lawn mowers and chain saws, shall not be regulated, provided the operation of said equipment is limited to the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and such equipment is operated with standard muffler or sound dissipating devices.
City of Norfolk's Real Estate Property Assessment page
Enter the address of the property(s) you are interested in.
I have found the tax office on the 4th floor of City Hall has some very user friendly computers and one can find even more information then is available on-line.
Report Street Lights Out
http://www.norfolk.gov/PublicWorks/streetlights.asp is where you report street light repairs. Cable repairs take 3-6 months.
Criminal Information Websites
Norfolk neighborhood crime maps can be found at: http:/norfolk.gov. Just click on the handcuff link and select our neighborhood.
I called the Crime Analysis Section staff at the Norfolk Police Department and got an answer to the question: Why are we able to check whether a burglary, larceny, robbery, stolen vehicle or vandalism happened in our neighborhood via the neighborhood crime map, but we are not able to access more violent crimes, such as murder, shots fired, rape, etc... The answer I received is that the neighborhood crime map is a tool that civic leagues can use to find a pattern in crimes and that Norfolk generally does not have serial murders or serial rapes. This map's checklist is indicative to the crimes neighborhoods experience and reporting a rape on this map or a murder could be extremely misleading. There is also limited server space, so they report the pertinent information that can help the public.
The site to check out sex offenders is http://sex-offender.vsp.state.va.us/cool-ICE/. When inquiring to police how far we could go to let residents know about this, we were told there is a fine line. Sex offenders have privacy rights. So, in a nut shell, just don't mention the names or point out the homes to others. You can however lead someone to the website so they can discover the info themselves.
On the state registry you can pull their convictions also. *sex*-*offender*.vsp.state.*va*.us/Static/Search.htm
There is no website listing violent offenders such as murders. While I happen to live within yards of one, I have no specifics or details or even a full name. I have no information about the case and no means of finding out more info. As a citizen, I'm in the dark. I do believe there should be a similar website as the sex offender registry to keep people informed as to when a violent felon moves in next door.
As residents, we are not privy to a notification. If you run a licensed daycare facility or school, a notice will be given. I called the State Police last year asking to be put on the notification list since I have children and most sex offenses and abductions don't take place at school. I was told absolutely not. Now that you know this, you must check this database regularly.
Check by zip code and also check the entire city. I've noticed felons putting Colonial Place addresses down with other zip codes that don't match, so you miss some by just doing a zip code search.
Here is another tool www.mapsexoffenders.com for searching sex offenders in our area.
Broader Solutions to Crime
Ten Things Adults Can Do to Stop Violence
From the National Crime Prevention Council: Ten Things Adults Can Do to Stop Violence
- Set up a Neighborhood Watch or a community patrol, working with police.
- Make sure your streets and homes are well lighted.
- Make sure that all the youth in the neighborhood have positive ways to spend their spare time, through organized recreation, tutoring programs, part-time work, and volunteer opportunities.
- Build a partnership with police, focused on solving problems instead of reacting to crises. Make it possible for neighbors to report suspicious activity or crimes without fear of retaliation.
- Take advantage of "safety in numbers" to hold rallies, marches, and other group activities to show you're determined to drive out crime and drugs.
- Clean up the neighborhood! Involve everyone - teens, children, senior citizens. Graffiti, litter, abandoned cars, and run-down buildings tell criminals that you don't care about where you live or each other. Call the local public works department and ask for help in cleaning up.
- Ask local officials to use new ways to get criminals out of your building or neighborhood. These include enforcing anti-noise laws, housing codes, health and fire codes, anti-nuisance laws, and drug-free clauses in rental leases.
- Work with schools to establish drug-free zones.
- Work with recreation officials to do the same for parks.
- Develop and share a phone list of local organizations that can provide counseling, job training, guidance, and other services that can help neighbors.
Crime Prevention Meeting Reports
Monday, August 15, 2005 meeting report
I want to thank everyone who came out to Monday night's meeting to discuss what we can do as citizens to bring back the intersection of Colley Avenue and 38th Street. It really shows that people want to do something about the crime this area has been experiencing. There was a lot of good discussion, and I really wish we had more time to plan. It was most informative to have Officer Routon there to discuss the crime issues and to share his report on the area there. Apparently there were some recent evictions in the area and patrols have been stepped up in response to the shooting. Andy and I found out from walking the area that the two apartment buildings on Colley Avenue directly across from the church are changing from buildings with five apartments each to buildings with 2 condos each. This project is planned to be completed within the next several months. With the police department going through the effects of mass retirement, we have to agree that there isn't a more important time for us to get involved than now!
There was a three part plan discussed:
1) CPRV CODES REPORTERS: Tackle the blighted buildings and codes violations with pen and paper (or e-mail!). When codes violations exist (trash, graffiti, garbage cans left out, broken windows, tall grass, loitering...) we will be on it. We will watch these areas and contact the appropriate city contacts with pictures if possible. We want to let the area know that turning to blight will not be accepted. We will start out focusing on the 38th Street/Colley intersection. Let's divide up the area into five sections:
- The strip of yellow apartments and surrounding buildings on 38th Street.
- The strip on Colley Avenue across from the church.
- The strip behind the 7-Eleven
- The strip next to the park on 38th Street and the park.
- The area around 39th Street and 7-Eleven.
2) CPRV NEIGHBORHOOD PATROL: Curbing crime in the neighborhood is a concern. The plan to form an informal or formal patrol of our neighborhood to keep a watch out for suspicious behavior, lights out, and areas that need to be improved for safety will be important. This can be as simple as making a presence in your area, keeping an eye out when walking the dog, or driving around patrolling. Please let me know if you are interested in volunteering with this group.
3) CPRV AMBASSADORS: We know to be effective, it will take the effort of many. Our goal is to meet face to face with all CPRV residents and talk to them about joining the list serve as a means to connect each other, to encourage neighbors to notify the police when they see suspicious behavior, and to strengthen the block captain program by getting every block covered. Please let me know if you are interested in committing to a street in the neighborhood and making sure that every house on that street gets a flyer and hopefully a face to face chat about our goal.
We are putting together a webpage with the pics that were shared last night. I will send a link out today when the final bugs are worked out. I will also include the contact numbers of all the agencys with that e-mail and the neighborhood Citizen's Academy information so you can have all the reporting information in one e-mail to keep for reference. Thanks again for coming out! Now let's get started! And don't forget the Crime Prevention Meeting next week!
Monday, August 23, 2005 meeting report
- To make sure every resident receives the bright pink form listing the contact numbers via the newsletter.
- To find out where the holes are in the neighborhood watch program and to shoot for 100% participation in this program.
- Set up a sign up table at the next civic league meeting to get more exposure for the neighborhood watch program and to lure in some more block captains.
- Ensure that the existing block captains have the up to date information about those on their block (name, address, vehicles, e-mails, phone numbers) and make sure that after all information has been collected that it is copied and handed out to each neighbor in that block watch.
- To encourage more residents to join the listserve so they can report crimes that happen to residents. This will be an important tool in keeping residents up to date on crime sprees and eliminating neighborhood problems.
- To encourage listserve participants to carry their out their in depth conversations on the yahoo group created by Archie and not on the CPRV listserve. The goal is to not bog down the listserve thus resulting in people being turned off and unsubcribing.
- Obtain two large maps from downtown of the Colonial Place/Riverview area. One map will be used to display at the civic meetings the current blocks with participation. The second map will be used to track crime in our neighborhood monthly to look for patterns.
- To encourage more residents to particpate in the neighborhood patrol program as they walk around or drive around. Notice oddities and report them.
- Find a way to have a mass recording of street light outages maybe through the neighborhood patrol and report to the appropriate agency.
- Find a solution for those that do not have internet access in the neighborhood, but who still want to keep up on the most up to date crime alerts. This could be covered by each block captain setting up a call system on their block watch for those that do not have internet acess.
Monday, September 26, 2005 meeting report
We had a great crime prevention meeting Monday night. A resident agreed to take the minutes and I didn't get a chance to see her after the meeting, so if you took the minutes, please contact me. (sheila janes thejanesfam@yahoo.com )
Some points of topic:
- We opened by fielding questions from Block Captains about signing up their neighbors. The main point to stress with neighbors is to sign up to the CPRV list serve, and to be aware of suspicious behavior and report it. We discussed looping Gosnold and Mayflower in with the state streets to get 100% participation. Apparently it is hard to get block captains for these two streets, so this might be a solution. Noted that newsletter article for October is on the block watch program, so we hope to get the remainder of the holes filled in then. There were several more Block Captains recruited at the meeting.
- Angel Matoos, Director of the Boys and Girls Club, discussed her program. The picnic table removal was discussed and it was brought up that the double wide picnic table is also a spot for problems. It was discussed to possibly move the tables to the dog park area, but we want to first contact the school to see if they utilize them before taking any action. She also mentioned that the children are sometimes in danger as they walk home. The club provides for gang and anti crime education. Currently, some of the kids are looking for Community Service projects through out the neighborhood as part of a service program through the Boys and Girls Club. The fight that happened on site before the last civic league involved some children who had previously been kicked out of the club. Angel strives to get as many children from the neighborhood pulled into the club. She plans to work together with us with any new problems t! hat arise in this area.
- Individual concerns were brought to the attention of Lieutenant Boone, such as the Greenway drug issues, the car larcenies, the door to door solicitors, as well as other individual concerns and tips. She was not able to give a follow up response to the robbery at gunpoint that happened last week at Gosnold and New York, because it appears a report was not made. We must stress to residents to report crimes as they happen or when they are discovered.
- A resident reported that the city met on sight with the landlords of the yellow apartments on 38th Street and trash concerns were improving. We will continue to keep up with codes reporting when we see violations. This method is proving to be most effective in the 38th Street/ Colley area. Residents are seeing improvments.
- In October we will be holding a street light sweep. Daylight savings times combined with Halloween makes October an ideal month to do this. We will do a sweep of the streets after dark and report the outages to Dominion Power in one group. Also, we need to republish the steps for individuals to report outages themselves. Dominion Power is given a short amount of time to correct the street light outage. We will also encourage residents to keep their porch lights on and install lights that come on automatically.
- Lieutenant Boone reminded us that the Truant Squad is back with the school year, and residents are encouraged to call the non emergency police number to report kids on bikes or kids out hanging around during school hours.
- A certification class will be held Saturday morning at 10am to certify citizens to remove those annoying "we buy homes" signs and other illegally posted signs. Residents are encouraged to take the class to know what is legal and what isn't. Contact Audrey Webb for more info.
- Several people were made aware of the meeting by the sign placed out on 38th and Colonial and the sign placed out on Virginia and Mayflower. Jean Bryan agreed to construct more sandwich board signs for next month's meeting and Stephanie Hale has agreed to stencil in the signs with all of the info. We discussed placing one at the Delaware circle, Gosnold and 38th, and several for Riverview.
- Jeanne Ullilan is constructing a several pages on the web for the Crime Prevention Committee! :-)
- Sheila Janes reported that after speaking to Commonwealth Attorney, Jack Doyle, and our Delagate, Ken Alexander, about the violent offenders registry idea, it will be pulled together for committee on it's way to hitting the floor of the General Assembly. If picked up by the General Assembly, we would be able to view the list of violent offenders in the same manner that we are able to view the sex offenders on the web. Feel free to contact you delegate, Ken Alexander, to show support for this idea.
- The CPRV crime mapper showing the reported crimes from January through August was available for viewing again. We are working on getting an electronic map with these stats put together.
- The next meeting will be held the Monday before Halloween. Please note the change.
City Council Contact Information
NORFOLK CITY COUNCIL
1006 City Hall Building
810 Union Street
664-4268 664-4290 (Fax)
ccouncil@norfolk.gov
Paul D. Fraim (Ward 2) MAYOR
Fraim and Fiorella, PC
431 Granby Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
227-5900 (W) 227-5901 (F)
Paul.fraim@norfolk.gov
Daun S. Hester (Superward 7) VICE MAYOR
Hester, Hester and Associates
3728 Wedgefield Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23502
466-8570 (W) 466-8571 (F)
Daun.hester@norfolk.gov
Anthony Burfoot (Ward 3)
New York Life
4823 Winthrop Street
Norfolk, VA 23513-2737
441-5926 (W) 441-5927 (F)
Paul R. Riddick (Ward 4)
Riddick Fuineral Services
1225 Norview Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23513
855-9010 (W) 855-2883 (F)
Donald L. Williams (Ward 1)
809 W. Ocean View Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23503
441-1610( W) 441-1611 (F)
Barclay C. Winn (Superward 6)
Winn Nursery of Virginia, Inc.
1201 Liberty Street
Norfolk, VA 23523
494-1400 (W) 494-1217 (F)
W. Randy Wright (Ward 5)
Randy Wright Printing & Publishing
410 Briar Hill Road, Ste. 102
Norfolk, VA 23502
466-1476 (W) 466-1498 (F)
Norfolk Crime Line--Anonymous Information
Norfolk Crime Line was founded in 1981 as a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization. Citizens are encouraged to call in to report criminal activity. Callers are never identified; they receive a number. If the information leads to an arrest, cash is paid the citizen who gave the information. 1-888-LOCK-U-UP
Turn On Your Front Door Light
Fight crime by lighting up our neighborhoods. Turn on your front lights. Show you care.
2006 Crime Prevention Committee Accomplishments
The year 2005 was an out of control year for crime. The city experienced 61 murders and our neighborhood experienced a rash of armed robberies and thefts.
Neighbors were outraged and participated in dialogues to work towards some type of positive change. The CPRV Crime Prevention Committee met with top police officials expressing rage to an overall attack on our neighborhood by thugs. We participated in walks throughout Park Place, and expressed outrage with the lack of code enforcement just past the 38th Street dividing line. We meet with the Emergency Operations Director expressing our shock at not having 9-1-1 calls answered. We spoke at town hall meetings on the increase in crime and the need for the city to promote action as well as we participated in citywide discussions to brainstorm on some solutions to the increase in crime related issues our city faces. We all mourned the loss of a Norfolk Police Officer. Several crime prevention members attended a 12-week Police Academy to educate themselves and bring back to the neighborhood the knowledge of the NPD's procedure, and ways to combat crime. We met with codes enforcement to figure out how to best move towards bettering our community. We wrote letters, made calls, and became an annoyance regarding violations in and around our community. We invested our own time in cleaning up our area and helping our neighboring neighborhood in efforts to clean up their area, faithful to the stop grime, stop crime philosophy.
We partnered with surrounding neighborhoods on crime issues and as a result we joined Larchmont's crime list to pass along issues that might be relevant to our neighborhood and vice versa. We encouraged Park Place to form a Crime Prevention Committee as well to partner with us. We watched the changing of the guard from our former PACE Officer Routon to two new PACE Officers for our community, Officer Jackson and Officer Horn. We had faith in the Chief's plan to move from two sectors to three sectors to increase police response time. We joined the new red sector with mild reluctance and suggested the McKendree building as a new police headquarters (which never panned out). Crime Prevention members conducted several neighborhood wide lighting sweeps and reported outages and followed up on these to ensure that our neighbors had a spotlight to see suspicious behavior going on. Campaigns were begun to encourage partnership with our local 7-Eleven to make sure that all is being done to create a neighborhood friendly and safe business. Our local hardware store was even approached about selling spray paint cans to minors and they bent over backwards after hearing of CPRV's Crime Prevention efforts and have stopped selling spray cans of paint to individuals without ID.
A huge accomplishment was the increase in neighbors participation in the Neighborhood Watch program. We were able to recruit and organize block captains for a good portion of CPRV and they were able to educate, encourage neighbors to report suspicious activity, and enroll neighbors onto the neighborhood wide listserv. We responded to an increase in bike thefts with a neighborhood wide bike registration and ride against crime as well as encouraged those that couldn't attend to call our PACE Officer out to their homes to register bikes.
All this is wonderful, but were the efforts futile? In this case I think that the numbers can tell the story for our community. Crime in CPRV is down from last year. For example, August 2005 had 51 reported crimes and in August 2006 there were 35. The stats are now online for everyone to review. I can't help feeling that efforts made by our community helped play a part in this, along with increased police patrols/partnerships, and a city wide spotlight on the high crime issues.
I can't help feeling that resident involvement in the listserv alone has helped us quickly identify problems, and quickly formulate solutions. Earlier this summer a fellow neighbor was attacked in her own driveway and word spread quickly via the neighborhood listserv. This served a purpose to remind us to be alert and watch out for our neighbors. That extra caution and extra eyes may have played a part in this being just a single incidence. Last month some people were going door-to-door that police wanted to catch up with. Because of hearing of these events on the listserv, a neighbor was alert, and responded quickly when they came to their door and police were put in contact with the group. This is neighborhood police partnership at work. This is a true neighborhood watch at work.
I want to rally the CPRV Crime Prevention Committee to think about ways in which CPRV can continue this momentum from last year and make even more strides towards crime prevention. We need to ensure that this new fiscal year will been even safer and we need increased neighborhood help and increased participation. I was told early on when volunteering on Crime Prevention that increased crime in the neighborhood increases membership on the Crime Prevention Committee and vice versa. I would like to see that trend move towards increased membership on the Crime Prevention Committee decreases crime and stays that way. Being proactive so that we don't have to be reactive needs to be our long term, sustainable goal.
- We still don't have 100% neighborhood coverage in the Neighborhood Watch program and we still don't have our neighborhood watch signs.
- We still don't have 100% of the communication lines open exchanging important up to date information regarding crime with our all of our neighboring neighbors such as Cruser Place, Highland Park,and Park Place.
- We continue to have cars broken into by residents who feel safe, but are actually baiting criminals with unlocked doors or laptops left on the seats.
- We continue to have speeders speeding down the streets where our kids play.
- We continue to see graffiti art displayed and have been futile with attempts at catching the artists in action.
- We still see burglaries and could put residents in touch with police who will survey homes to point out areas that could be made safer, engravers to mark items, and light bulbs to light up the porches.
Thank you,
sheila janes
Engrave Your Valuables
The Crime Committee has an engraver you may borrow to mark your valuables. Contact Sheila Janes at thejanesfam@yahoo.com
Report Gunfire
CPRV Crime Prevention Committee sent out a request to the city for a study to determine the feasibility and worthiness of getting a gunfire detection system to encompass our neighborhoods as well as cover neighboring neighborhoods such as Park Place, Ghent, Huntersville, and more.
I received a call from Lt. Roger Hungerford this evening. A copy of our request, along with a copy of the pages of shots fired that were compiled from the reports on the CPRV list serve, have been passed on to him. As a result, he is doing some research on our gunfire reports. I plan to meet with him this month to go over the reports residents made on the list serve.
During the period that the proposal is being reviewed by the city please follow a different procedure for reporting the gunfire. If you hear shots fired, please do the following:
- Call 441-5610 and make the report of gunfire (unless you have eye witnessed the shooting, in which you would call 9-1-1)
- Call Lt. Hungerford and leave a message on his phone with your information, phone number, and guesstimation as to what direction the shots were fired from if possible. His number is 328-4026
- Make the report on the list serve. Giving the approximate location of where you are is important (i.e. 400 block of New York Ave.). If several people hear the shots, please give the different locations.
