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Permalink Reply by John Boutet on April 8, 2011 at 2:44am

Eric,

I'm sorry to hear about your break-ins.  Check out Dan DeMarle's  19th Ward Crime Alert Facebook group.  It is primarily focused on crime activity in this part of the 19th Ward.  Dan is on the middle block of Melrose and I'm on the west block.   Most of the members of this group are withing a few blocks of this area.  Several of the members have set up security cameras and when something happens they check their images to try and help the police identify the culprits.  Many burglary victims feel they were being watched and that the burglars came in just as they left the house.  Posting information on Location19 is good but the Facebook group probably has more rapid notification effect because many people are frequently logged onto Facebook.

Dan and Landy Atkinson have a block group organized on the middle block of Melrose and some of us on the west block of Melsose started one in 2009.  That one now includes the two southern blocks of Rugby and the Woodbine block at the end of Melrose.  We are trying to help one get started on your block.  Steph Siro Totin on Rugby near Trafalgar,  Kuo and Lisa Downing-Reese on Trafalgar and Mary Reese on Rugby have expressed interest in forming a block group.  Also some members in our block group who are on Aberdeen, such as Chris and Bettie Lindley,  I am sure would participate also.  All the people mentioned are on Location19 and can be contacted that way.

The more we can get out blocks organized the safer the neighborhood will become.  When I say organized I primarily mean that people have each others contact information and can easily pick up the phone and call someone to warn them of a problem on the street.  An important function is to get to know your neighbors so you know if a person you see is a stranger or a neighbor.  All our get-togethers have been as informal socials where we get together at someones home or yard to share some food and conversation.  One or two people have to take on the job of collecting and tabulating the contact information and distribute it to the neighbors in the group.

Hope this helps.  I'm more than happy to talk to you more on this if you want.

John

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Permalink Reply by DeWain Feller on April 8, 2011 at 4:35pm

I am sorry to hear about the recent break-ins at your home and your neighbor's home.  The 19th Ward Community Association is taking crime issues seriously.  If you have any suggestion for combatting crime in the 19th Ward, we are more willing to listen to new ideas.

There are two monthly meeting that I want to make sure that you are aware of.  The 19th Ward Public Safety Committee meets on the last Wednesday of each month at 6:30 PM at the Presbyterian Home, 256 Thurston Road.  The meeting are open to the public.

The Police-Citizen Interaction Committee (PCIC) meets every 2nd Wednesday of the month (the next one is April13th) from 7 - 8:30 PM at the Staybridge Suite hotel, 1000 Genesee Street at Brooks.  The PCIC is an excellent way for citizens and the police to exchange information.

I would also encourage you to organize with others on your block, as John has suggested.  If anyone has suggestions on how to use trophy cameras (Dan DeMarle's idea that John mentioned in his post) more effectively, please let us know.

 

DeWain Feller

President, 19th Ward Community Association

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Permalink Reply by Dan DeMarle on April 9, 2011 at 5:49pm

Sorry about the break ins.  We have a Facebook page - 19th ward crime alert - where we post events like this. This way everyone can stay involved and know about events that are happening throughout the 19th ward. It also allows us to send out alerts to members on things as we hear about them or see them.

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Permalink Reply by Brion Swanson on July 25, 2011 at 9:10pm

Hey Eric, I'm very sorry to hear about the break-ins.  My wife and I live on Weldon St. and recently (late night Thursday, July 21st) had our external shed broken into and two bikes and a snowblower stolen.  In 2008 we also had a break-in to our house while we were sleeping at around 2am where they took our Wii, all the games/accessories, my wife's iPod, my phone, and both of our cars and sets of keys.  At that time we didn't have a security system.  Fortunately the cars were recovered (albeit in bad shape) and one of the suspects was caught but he was only 15 at the time and therefore couldn't be tried as an adult.

 

There's no feeling more insecure than to have your home invaded.  I hope for your sake you have no more break-ins or stolen items.  My former neighbor and his wife had their house broken into while they were away at Thanksgiving two years ago (the perpetrator entered through the bathroom window by climbing onto a rain barrel below it - my neighbor unfortunately did not have that one window locked and they stole his laptop and a digital camera).

 

With the exception of my snowblower, the burglaries seem to focus primarily on technology and expensive items that are easy and quick to sell.  It also seems like in all of these cases, the thieves are carefully casing their marks to ensure minimal likelihood they are caught.  Flood lights (even motion sensing ones) do not seem to be any sort of deterrent.

 

Brion

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