Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Free Booze and support the MUSD Schools 12/20

What could be better than free booze and some munchies?  Great Art and a chance to help the MUSD schools bring (keep?) art in the class rooms for the elementary schools.  Members of the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts (MAFA) have donated art for a silent auction that night.  The proceeds will go to help MAFA continue its funding of art programs in the schools and community.  

It should be a fun evening.  Very relaxed a half dozen artists showing their work, including me.
Frank


Wednesday, December 10, 2008

MPD on the street - Neighborhood Watch in Action

Around 4:38 Shane calls and lets me know a guy was at his door saying he was selling magazines.  The guy had none of the usual accroutrement one would see with a door-to-door magazine.  Shane recalled the post here a few weeks back about the Robo-dial message from MUSD.  He ask's the guy where is his "sellers permit" issued by the city.  The guy says he has none, Shane tells him no thanks and warns him "You probably should leave as this street is pretty tight and you won't get much further without MPD being called".

Shane calls me.  He tells me he saw the guy last heading to Robertos and leave. While we are talking I see him going to Rob and Julies.  I tell him to call MPD and let him know I saw him there looking in the windows.  I asked him to let MPD know to talk to me as well as I saw him look into the window over at Rob's and Julies then move towards the Cohen's front door.  At that point my view of him was blocked by trees.
  
Shane calls MPD and calls me back.  He tells me MPD will send someone.  About that time he tells me he see's the guy had made it around to the Birkholz.  It was my turn to call MPD with the new info so Shane could watch.

As I was talking with MPD dispatch the first squad car arrived.  While I was on the line they had me relay what I saw.  Then 2 more squad cars arrived.  By 5 the first of the cars left,  a few minutes later the remaining cars left.  

I don't know what the guy was up to.  I do he was given a field interview by MPD per the information from dispatch while I was on the phone with them.  We do know he wasn't around after MPD left.  Thanks for the fast response MPD.

It pays to share with each other, watch and report as we see strange stuff.  If anything when these field interviews are conducted on our calls they do know we are watching and will call MPD to report unusual activity.  

As we noted the other day here, report what you see.  Lock it up to prevent the crimes of opportunity that happen in the area.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

City Manager Report addresses crime prevention

If you haven't taken the time to visit the city managers weekly recap you should.  The reading is tedious and editorial in nature, kind of like a lot of blogs: shameless self-promotion, but good bits can be found.  From the report this week an interesting comment on controlling crime through neighborhood awareness and reporting it to the police and sharing with each other.  

"One of the best ways to combat residential burglaries is to have “eyes on the street” – to keep neighbors engaged and vigilant, to be aware of suspicious cars and people on the block, and to guard against “crimes of opportunity”. Especially with this last point, it is important to notify to the Police Department of even minor incidents. This helps police track crime trends and find clues. For example, a car owner might leave their doors unlocked and notice the next morning that the tray of small change has been emptied and CD’s are gone. Many times, victims of this type of crime will blame themselves rather than notify the police (“It wasn’t that much money and, besides, I left the door unlocked.”) But it is precisely this type of crime report that helps us understand if there is a problem on that street, and the magnitude of the problem (for example, is it simply kids doing stupid things or has the neighbor’s trouble-bound son or daughter just gotten out of jail?). Make no mistake; this kind of activity can happen anywhere in our town. And it is important that we don’t get scared or rattled, but rather that we get involved.

Thus, I strongly encourage folks to take up the Community Policing Bureau’s offer to establish/reinvigorate a local Neighborhood Watch program. It can be as structured or as casual as folks might desire, and it is a great way to get to know the people on your street."

If you see something going on let Renee and I know, we'll publish it here.  If dire enough Renee will do a mass email as well to make sure the word is out.