| August NCPC Meeting Article will appear in next months (Septembers) MacArthur Metro. Greetings neighbors! I hope this month you make time to attend your Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council, you will be amazed at what's happening in your own back yard. Frequently our sessions are informative and positive regarding the success of Community Policing. At other times we vent our frustrations about chronic problems that SEEM insurmountable. The month of July was a difficult time for the neighbors of Maxwell Park. Our crime statistics increased dramatically. In May there were 2 stolen vehicles in our community, in July there were 9. Likewise there was an increase in auto burglaries from 1 in May to 7 in July. These high numbers are unusual for us since the OPD realignment last year. One of the benefits of attending NCPC meetings is to find out what's happening so we can be more vigilant as needed. Many neighbors are unaware that there has been a rash of burglaries just one block away from their home. So, the people of Maxwell Park and the OPD are on high alert for suspicious activity. You can find the crime statistics for your neighborhood at www.oaklandpolice.com. Your NCPC and community beat officer can provide dates and locations of crimes. We had a guest speaker at our August meeting, Officer Ronald Ward from Alcohol Beverage Action Team (ABAT). Officer Ward was once our Community Policing Officer so it was good to see him again. Our area has a long history of problems with The White House Market. Many neighbor complaints ranging from loitering to drugs. Officer Ward is working with us to help the Market become a good neighbor or close. The challenging part of working with the system is that it is so slow! Most of us want immediate action. Officer Ward is encouraging us to keep the faith and he gave us some solid information on action currently being taken by the ABC. We will not give up or stop applying pressure on the City/County and State. One neighbor has reached her limit with city services regarding a public nuisance home in the area and is leading neighbors in a civil suit. This method has been very effective in dealing with public nuisance residences in our city. OPD has an officer who is available to help any group of citizens who feel they have exhausted all other resources and choose this legal route. Contact your NCPC if you want more information. We were very happy to have Councilman Moses Mayne present to hear all of our issues. We gave him a lot to digest and we plan to continue to call for his support and assistance in keeping our neighborhoods safe and clean. Our next meeting is Wed. Sept. 12 at 7pm, 5410 Fleming Ave at Mills Grove Christian Church. See you there! |