News from our neighbors to the northeast

Thank you to Ed for sharing the following announcement, which came across the Claremont e-alert list earlier today:

Possible Homicide (Claremont)

On Friday January 30, 2009 at about 11:15 a.m., officers responded to a residence in the 700 block W. Arrow Hwy. to check on the welfare of the resident after the resident's employer reported that he did not show up for work. Responding officers found inside the residence a deceased male adult, possibly the resident, who appears to be in his 50's or 60's; identification is pending. The cause of death is not yet determined, but does not appear to be natural, accidental, or self inflicted. Further details regarding the possible cause of death will remain undisclosed until further investigation can be conducted.

PART IV: NW Group Not the Only Option

A while back (I guess it could not have been that long ago since this blog is barely two weeks old), reader Anduhrew posted a comment inquiring about the effort involved in creating and sustaining NW groups. His post prompted a four-part reflection on the issue. Today's post, which is the fourth in the series, sits a bit askew from the others in that it contemplates non-NW options for achieving one goal of the NW program: community building.

Sure, Neighborhood Watch groups can be effective mechanisms for biting crime and building community. But, plenty of other strategies exist for achieving these ends. For example, check out How to Build Community . Notice how small many of these things really are; small, but significant.

If you can't join forces with an existing NW group (see Part I), don't have the energy to start a new group (see Part II), or worry about the time involved in sustaining a watch group (see Part III), you can still create -- and benefit from -- community connectedness.

What ideas do you have for building community? Post your ideas. Try out the ideas posted by others. Share your reflections.

If this house is a rockin'...

This just in from Web Watch (to register for Web Watch, visit this link)...

"The Pomona City Council made several changes to an ordinance that deals with loud and disturbing parties and music. These changes became effective on December 17, 2008. The Pomona Police Department will be enforcing these changes and will be issuing a citation to persons responsible for the loud and disturbing party. Until now, residents could host loud parties just about as often as they wanted with little or no consequence, other than angry neighbors. The City of Pomona recognizes these unsafe parties as a threat to the public peace, health, safety, and general welfare of the city.


"Music or any other type of disturbance that's plainly audible more than 50 feet from its source, between the hours of 10:00 pm and 7:00 am, will be a violation. A disturbance between the hours of 7:00 am and 10:00 pm that's plainly audible from 150 feet will also be a violation. The person responsible for the party can expect to be issued a citation for a violation of this noise ordinance. The violation will be filed with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.


"These loud party and music calls are more prevalent on Friday and Saturday nights and continue into the early morning hours. The Police Department receives several calls-for-service to these disturbing parties, and this becomes a drain on the Pomona Police Department's resources. Other violations committed by partygoers, and associated with these loud parties are; littering of alcohol containers, urinating in public, parking violations, physical altercations, public intoxication, and drunk driving. The City of Pomona would like to urge anyone planning a large party to seek a safe and suitable venue. Please keep your neighbors in mind before you have a large party at your home.

"Cpl. D. Johnson"

PART III: Time Involved in Organizing a NW Group

I look forward to comparing notes with others about the time involved in organizing -- sustaining, really -- NW groups. Our group began meeting approximately 3 years ago. We recently (finally!) worked out a system that I hope will make it a bit easier to keep the watch group rolling.

Before I tell you what we're doing now, let me tell you how we operated previously. In the past, the meetings tended to rather reactive -- if something was happening in the neighborhood, we quickly cobbled together fliers, pleaded with our Crime Prevention Specialist to put in a last-minute request an officer for the meeting, and hoped people would show up. Although attendance was spotty, the meetings usually turned out pretty good -- spirited conversations, sharing of information, etc.

The meetings would typically end with a question: "Who is willing to organize the next meeting?" After a minute or so of pleading ("Really, it is important we all share responsibility for our watch group") and attempts to avoid eye contact, somebody would eventually volunteer. The plan was always to get together "sometime within the next month."

Months would roll by; urban tumble weeds (i.e., plastic grocery bags), rather than NW fliers, arrived on the stoop. Eventually, neighbors would start asking me, "Hey, when is the next meeting?" I'd reply, "So and so said he'd organize the next one; I'll touch base with him to see if he's had a chance to set a date." Still, no meeting. Eventually, there would be another "event" in the neighborhood. Stew and I, feeling irritated that the organizing responsibilities were again falling on our shoulders, would whip up some fliers, beginning the cycle anew.

Alas, this reactive model took a lot of emotional energy and time. We needed a better approach.

Here's the current model: We meet the last Saturday of every month at 3:00 PM. The location changes depending on the weather (if it is nice, we meet in the park) and the willingness of neighbors to host. Prior to the meeting, we ask our Crime Prevention Specialist to prepare fliers for the next meeting. Then, at the end of the meeting, we ask for volunteers to simply distribute the fliers for the following meeting; given the fliers are already prepared, we can hand them over "on the spot."

We recently acquired bright yellow lawn signs that say, "Neighborhood Watch Saturday at 3:00." Whoever has a sign places it in their yard the Sunday before the meeting, providing both a reminder to participants and a signal to ne'erdowells that we are an active group.

Now, here is what it takes to organize a meeting:

1. An e-mail to the Crime Prevention Unit to request fliers and officer visits

2. A call to remind neighbors to put out their yellow signs and/or distribute fliers

3. Calls to any guest presenters to coordinate their visit

4. It seems a call to remind people to take down the yellow signs may also be needed (yup, some of the signs from last week's meeting are still out)

So far, I'm finding this new model much more humane than the old. We've got built-in redundancy in the advertisement efforts (a stable meeting time, fliers, multiple yard signs), so if somebody drops the ball on a given month, the chances are good at least a few people will nevertheless show up to the meeting.; in other words, Stew and I don't need to find more time in our packed schedules to do tasks other people said they would do. We have more lead time now for coordinating our efforts with the police department and lining up interesting and relevant guests; having lead time really helps our Crime Prevention Specialist support the group's efforts.

And, most importantly, this new model makes it easier for everyone to play a role in sustaining the group.

Let there Be Light

Some time ago, a big ol' tow truck ran into a street light located along the west edge of Garfield Park. Neighbors noticed; the city did not. Well, that's probably not entirely true. Someone in the city must have noticed, because the ruined street light was a removed, and an orange and white thingamijig (I'm sure there's a more formal term) stood straddling the light's base.

In swoops NW. A neighbor brought the missing light to the attention of a Councilperson Paula Lantz, a regular attendee at the meetings. She did a little investigating. Come to find out, a number of sights in her district were awaiting replacement lights. Lantz worked with the appropriate city departments to order replacement lights and stayed abreast of the project's progress.

And now, I am very pleased to announce Garfield Park is home to one of these new lights. Thank you, dear neighbor, for thinking to bring this issue to the attention of our Councilperson. And thank you, Paula Lantz, for your work on our behalf.

Let there be light!

Ice Cream Trucks

I would like to talk about something that came up in the last watch meeting: Ice Cream Trucks.

I always enjoyed that an ice cream truck came by almost every day of the year, and sometimes three a day. I always thought the sound of an ice cream truck on Christmas Day was just a reminder I lived in sunny California. But then a neighbor brought up a good point, what are the ice cream trucks doing circling at 10:00 AM on school days? Who is their customer then? My neighbor said she sees adult men go up at these odd hours as customers. Are these trucks drug fronts or serve some other shady purpose?

I'd like to put a question and a request out there. The question- Am I just naive and these trucks have been underneath my street smarts radar all this time? The request- If you do see a suspicious mid-day sale at a ice cream truck, please report it. These trucks are all over Pomona all the time. If they really are infra-structure for crime, I'd love to shut them down.

Thanks for the read,

Stew

PART II: Starting a New NW Group

Let's imagine Henrietta Pussy Cat wishes to start a NW group in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe: "Meow Meow Henrietta Pussy Cat meow wants meow to take a bite out of crime meow." What steps can she take to achieve her goal?

I'm sure alternate paths to action exist, but here's a run down of how we got the ball rolling in Garfield Park. I put time estimates after each step; they feel accurate, but memory is a fickle thing.

Step 1. Call Pomona Police Department's Crime Prevention Unit. (909) 620-2318. After you give your address, the CPU will be able to tell you who serves as the Crime Prevention Specialist (CPS) for your area. The Specialist for your area is your go-to person for all things Neighborhood Watch. 15 minutes.

Step 2. Read the Information Packet. Your CPS person will likely send you a packet of information about Pomona's NW program. As I recall, our packet contained lots of useful information and tips for organizing watch groups; I think there were some preliminary forms to fill out, too. 1 hour.

Step 3. Select a date and time for your first NW meeting. Coordinate this time with your CPS, as she or he will want to be there to help facilitate the meeting, to get a sense of community interest, and to support you. At this point, your CPS may contact the watch captain on your behalf to request the presence of an officer at your meeting (if you don't want an officer present, it is AOK to let your CPS know this). 5 minutes.

Step 4. Make Fliers. Ask your CPS if she or he would be willing and available to create and duplicate a flier announcing your meeting. You will need to know how many fliers to request, so count doors in the neighborhood before placing the call. To help encourage broad participation, it is a good idea to print the fliers in both Spanish and English; doing so signals to neighbors all are welcome -- not just English speakers (we struggle with this impression in our neighborhood).

Frankly, at least for the first meeting, I think it would be a good idea to request at least two sets of fliers. The first flier, which you could distribute a couple weeks in advance of the meeting, would announce the existence of the group and invite neighbors to "save the date" for the first meeting. The second flier, which you could distribute 2 - 4 days before the meeting, would serve as a reminder, and perhaps an invitation to "meet your neighbors and share your concerns." 5 minutes (requesting the fliers is easy; the CPS is doing the hard work here -- be thankful)

Step 5. Distribute the fliers. Knock on doors, introduce yourself. Don't be surprised if neighbors want to share their concerns with you on the spot. Validate their concerns and let them know you hope they'll consider sharing their thoughts at the meeting. 30 minutes (this time estimate, of course, depends on the size of your area).

Step 6. Stay in contact with your CPS. Let her or him know about any concerns you have about the actual meeting. Ask questions.

Step 7. Prepare a simple agenda. It will likely include: introductions, concerns, plans for the next meeting. 5 minutes

Step 8. Gather supplies. Definitely bring a sing-in sheet (with spaces for name, address, phone number, e-mail), a pen or two, and a notebook for your own use. In addition, you may wish to bring the following to the meeting: name tags, markers for the name tags, extra pens, maps of the neighborhood which people can use to "x" any problem areas, light refreshments (totally optional). 10 minutes.

Step 9. Knock on doors. We find that, even with the fliers (and now the snazzy yellow yard signs), it is useful to go door-to-door in the hour or moments preceding the meeting to encourage people to come by. Some people forget about the meeting; others just need a little extra reminder that their input is valued. 30 minutes.

Step 10. Enjoy your first meeting! The CPS will likely arrive a few minutes early and will bring a bunch of window stickers and placards, informational brochures, etc. As people arrive, introduce yourself, offer a name tag (if you decide to use them), and ask everyone to sign-in. You or the CPS can kick off the meeting once it looks like most everyone has settled in. 1 - 2 hours, depending on attendance and level of enthusiasm.

[Today's image obtained from www.fci.org Three cheers for Fred Rogers, who taught us what it means to be a good neighbor.]