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03/16/2009 |
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The March 1, 2006 Community Meeting. |
| A look back, a look ahead. |
| What have we accomplished and how? What now? |
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Three years ago this evening 350 neighbors met with government officials and police leaders and officers at NMB High School. The neighbors assembled were concerned with the high lever of preventable crime plaguing our community and the lack of police visibility. The consensus of those gathered was there needed to be more preventative measures taken by the police and more governmental resources allocated to our community. At the same time the community recognized it needed to do more as well. The goal was to work together to return the streets of our community to law abiding residents.
The meeting was scheduled after crime got so out of control that home burglaries, car thefts and car burglaries seemed almost normal and stolen bicycles were a joke. They were overshadowed by numerous robberies the worst of which involved two home invasions. The first, where one couple was pistol whipped before they were robbed. In the second incident a man in his 80s was forced into his home at gun point after returning from shul. He was tied up and his home was burglarized. When calling 9-1-1 many residents were not getting through or finding they needed to hold for 20 minutes or longer.
In the two weeks or so from the day the notice announcing the meeting was sent out to 2,000 neighbors until the date of the meeting, three serious incidents occurred. First an elderly woman was robbed walking from her car to her home after she returned from shopping. Then two other women were robbed as they also walked together from their car to their home returning from a long day at work. Finally a pulpit rabbi in the community was robbed and taken into his home at gun point as he returned home from shul.
Today, while much remains to be done, thank G-d robberies are down considerably and crime is more under control. Police come to our community and we are on their radar in a manner we were not prior to March 1, 2006. We have not yet achieved our goals but we are moving in the right direction. There still is much to be done. I believe there are nine reasons for the progress and have two suggestions on what still needs to be accomplished and why.
Reasons for the progress:
1. County, City and School Police and Governmental leaders became focused on the needs of our community and specifically preventative measures. They have provided more lighting, traffic calming devises uniform and undercover patrols, regular traffic enforcement details, a faster police response by the County (NMB has always been fast) and other efforts. Many leaders acknowledge our needs and are working on solutions. Police officials are aware of and monitor significant incidents in our community regardless of whether it is NMB or County. For the Police and Government officials stepping up and making a tremendous difference they deserve much of the credit and they earned the appreciation and recognition from all of us.
2. Neighbors that watch out for each other, remain more aware of their surroundings, added lighting in their yards, trimmed bushes and trees to avoid blind spots, added video surveillance cameras, walk in groups when possible, keep their children from hanging out at late hours or in isolated places, keep windows closed, keep doors locked, keep valuables out of cars when they are unoccupied, have dogs, have monitored alarms on homes or patrolled the community have played a large part in making a difference and deserve significant credit for the success we are having.
3. Neighbors that worked with the police by reporting suspicious incidents and/or crimes in progress, calling attention to neighbors of suspicious incidents and/or crimes in progress, calling early, being courteous to police officers and thanking police officers played a major role in our current success.
4. By making crime more difficult it not only limits crime to the victim, it makes the area less attractive to criminals to commit other crimes.
5. Neighbors who petitioned for, voted for, or collected signatures for the security patrol and/or use the security patrol to get from their car to their house after dark have made a big difference in community safety. In the 16 months since the security patrol became operational, not a single person that called for the patrol to stand by, was held up in the district walking from their car to their home.
6. Neighbors that worked hard to get a larger share of the law enforcement limited resources to our community by being united in participating in rallies, e-mailing government officials, attending meetings, attending the County Commissioner debate held in our community, using the media effectively and sparingly, participating in e-mail networks to send and receive alerts, helping with the website and refusing to believe that we could not do better as a community, you were a part of the proverbial squeaky wheel that helped immeasurably to get needed resources to our community and to assure that our community remains in the radar of the applicable government leaders and police officials.
7. Neighbors that are constantly providing acts of chessed involving medical, physiological, food, housing, homework, tutoring, money, clothing, a ride, a proper burial, a taharah, kiruv, youth programs, visits to the elderly, being someone to speak with, an extra pair of hands, or reciting tehillim, you are making an incalculable difference. The time, energy, caring and money provided to help each other is unmatched, but not unnoticed. A national gang study shows that creating an infrastructure of neighbors caring about each other, being there for each other and mentoring each other is needed to reduce crime and gangs. We have a community we can be proud of and we are a model of what gang specialists are trying to create elsewhere. Just as we ask our government and police to help us, they also need us so that our community stays in tack and does not need to be rebuilt with a culture of giving and caring for one another. Many neighbors are aware of a portion of the tremendous acts of kindness, one to the other, but the totality of the acts are probably not known by anyone by virtue of most people providing the help without anyone or limited people knowing. For that reason so much is never known except from Above.
8. Neighbors involved in teaching and learning of Torah at all of the Shuls, the Kollel, and in many homes, you are an important part of the security of our community.
9. Doubling of 9-1-1 staff on May 1, 2006 virtually eliminated the reports of residents being unable to get through to 9-1-1 instantly. This was an essential component.
Matters that remain to be accomplished:
1. Though we are headed in the correct direction and created relationships and infrastructure to make our community safer, there remains only an invisible line separating our community from the public middle school, public high school and areas of higher crime. We remain too convenient a path between deep discounters and the Interstate. At present, we still have 17 access points to our community. We need to work to reduce these access points, starting with traffic flow patterns to get students that do not live in the community out with the most direct routes possible. The widening of 15th Avenue was a help but more needs to be done.
2. An organized effort for neighbors to patrol our community has been tried many times. Unfortunately the effort is always short lived and gains its most volunteers during the worst of times and loses its members as a few days without problems pass. To keep problems from returning, we should all commit to one shift of 3 hours per month.
To each and everyone who has participated in any positive manner, you have made a difference and together as a community we have made a difference. Let us all continue to do whatever is necessary to keep our community on a road of progress and greater safety. When problems occur, it is easy to quantify. When proactive efforts are taken, the full measure of what is prevented is unknown but you can be sure every silence is golden because of your efforts. Keep it up!
Thank you all for your involvement and thank you for making a difference.
Alan
Remember, together we will make a difference.
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