NWatch Meeting-5/2/2011

[ChicagoTransplant]

Maybe you guys don't expect much communication between police-to-public but I do.  It's a two way street with communication.

If the mayor wants less expectations, they can cut my taxes in half and I'll be more than happy to get any warnings of a rash of crime from the Riverside police.

I don't expect to the police to go door-to-door (although they have before for less urgent issues) but send a mf email, post something on the blog or call a press conference... just do something other than "we are on top of it".

If you call me a South Side Sissie for it... I'll ante up... cut my taxes completely, allow right-to-carry permits and we can form volunteer militias.   

Hello. My wife and i just moved to the south side of Berwyn a few months ago. When we were looking up the neighborhood we now live in we checked the criminal activity on www.crimereports.com. I think it's a pretty neat site because it allows you to search all the police activity that happens in the city. You can pick specific date ranges, incident types and locations to see what you want. I like the interface because it is easy to use and when I'm interested in a certain crime that happened around my block I can click on its icon and see the date, time, description and report number. I thought the report number was nice because I FOIA'ed a couple of reports that caused a little concern before we made our decision to buy.

I also liked that when you sign up with a user name for the site it allows you to set alerts. I set alerts just for my vicinity and I get them through email when the criteria I set are met. I did know about a couple of the burglaries on the south end of town, but now I'm going to set the alerts for the whole city so I can get a better picture of what's going on.

Hope this piece of info helps.   

[Bonster]

Is that same site the BPD links to on their website?


Welcome.  You sound different than most south siders...prepared!
Good idea watching the entire city as well.  It's much quieter on the south side, but the crime that happens up north affects us all.

[Thor]

And, maybe, just maybe, if our police officers did not HAVE TO respond to every call about the brat-assed kid who doesn't want to go to school, or the couple (or family) who only knows how to interact by beating the snot out of each other, or the ill-mannered-and-proud-of-it people that host those big and loud "family" parties -- late on Sunday nights! --, or have to be stationed at the local high school in the morning and at dismissal time because bad/disruptive/dangerous behaviour is the rule versus the exception... maybe the department would have the time to devote to even more diligent patrol of the entire city --the "hot" spots and also surveilance of the highly suspicious, etc. They could do their job -- and we could rest easier and not really have to be on the alert so much ourselves. Would be nice, wouldn't it?

One of the people that spoke up mentioned the idea of using cameras for certain area. Wouldn't the high school be a good place for this? Unfortunately Ritz dismissed him with a "too expensive, we know what we're doing" shrug. And as far as the police having to do things like answer domestic abuse calls and disorderly conduct are you saying we dont have enough police to do this and deal with other crimes?

[billyjean]

Maybe you guys don't expect much communication between police-to-public but I do.  It's a two way street with communication.

If the mayor wants less expectations, they can cut my taxes in half and I'll be more than happy to get any warnings of a rash of crime from the Riverside police.

I don't expect to the police to go door-to-door (although they have before for less urgent issues) but send a mf email, post something on the blog or call a press conference... just do something other than "we are on top of it".

If you call me a South Side Sissie for it... I'll ante up... cut my taxes completely, allow right-to-carry permits and we can form volunteer militias.   

Hello. My wife and i just moved to the south side of Berwyn a few months ago. When we were looking up the neighborhood we now live in we checked the criminal activity on www.crimereports.com. I think it's a pretty neat site because it allows you to search all the police activity that happens in the city. You can pick specific date ranges, incident types and locations to see what you want. I like the interface because it is easy to use and when I'm interested in a certain crime that happened around my block I can click on its icon and see the date, time, description and report number. I thought the report number was nice because I FOIA'ed a couple of reports that caused a little concern before we made our decision to buy.

I also liked that when you sign up with a user name for the site it allows you to set alerts. I set alerts just for my vicinity and I get them through email when the criteria I set are met. I did know about a couple of the burglaries on the south end of town, but now I'm going to set the alerts for the whole city so I can get a better picture of what's going on.

Hope this piece of info helps.   

Helps BIG TIME ... and welcome to the neighborhood.

[baron von berwyn]

And, maybe, just maybe, if our police officers did not HAVE TO respond to every call about the brat-assed kid who doesn't want to go to school, or the couple (or family) who only knows how to interact by beating the snot out of each other, or the ill-mannered-and-proud-of-it people that host those big and loud "family" parties -- late on Sunday nights! --, or have to be stationed at the local high school in the morning and at dismissal time because bad/disruptive/dangerous behaviour is the rule versus the exception... maybe the department would have the time to devote to even more diligent patrol of the entire city --the "hot" spots and also surveilance of the highly suspicious, etc. They could do their job -- and we could rest easier and not really have to be on the alert so much ourselves. Would be nice, wouldn't it?

Last Friday around the time schools let out I saw two cars parked at cross walks near Proksa and also south of the tracks.  Is it normal for squads to sit at crosswalks when the elementary schools are getting out?

yes it is.... students used to loiter after school and after enough neighbors complained the city dispatched patrol officers to keep the kids moving on down the block and towards their homes.  Now the kids are no longer hanging around in the parking lots and in front of our homes after school.

[Bonster]

One of the people that spoke up mentioned the idea of using cameras for certain area. Wouldn't the high school be a good place for this?

We have cameras at the schools, mounted directly on them.  It's fun to moon them when walking the dog.

I'm all for cameras, just not the ones with flashing blue lights which scream "GHETTO!!!"

[Homebody]

Thanks.I don't know who my alderperson is so I will have to do a little online hunting.

Here's a Ward map:

http://berwyn-il.gov/pdf/Maps/Ward%20Map.jpg

And a list of Aldermen:

http://www.berwyn-il.gov/bm_Aldermen.html

Thanks you so much for your help! I am in the 3rd Ward. So do I have to contact her to be added to a mailing list? And does she have an email newsletter that goes out as well?

I post here as Homebody. My e-mail address is marge3rdward@sbcglobal.net. I do have an E-letter that I send out. I would be happy to add you to the list. Sorry that we haven't met yet. Marge Paul

[MRS. NORTHSIDER]

And, maybe, just maybe, if our police officers did not HAVE TO respond to every call about the brat-assed kid who doesn't want to go to school, or the couple (or family) who only knows how to interact by beating the snot out of each other, or the ill-mannered-and-proud-of-it people that host those big and loud "family" parties -- late on Sunday nights! --, or have to be stationed at the local high school in the morning and at dismissal time because bad/disruptive/dangerous behaviour is the rule versus the exception... maybe the department would have the time to devote to even more diligent patrol of the entire city --the "hot" spots and also surveilance of the highly suspicious, etc. They could do their job -- and we could rest easier and not really have to be on the alert so much ourselves. Would be nice, wouldn't it?

Last Friday around the time schools let out I saw two cars parked at cross walks near Proksa and also south of the tracks.  Is it normal for squads to sit at crosswalks when the elementary schools are getting out?

I see them around Irving pretty often.  I highly doubt they're there to deal with unruly kids - it's the idiot parents who don't seem to know how to drive.  The drop-off zone has really helped the situation but the one thing I see on a regular basis is people who don't get what it means when the schoolbuses have the stop sign out and flashing.  Most of them are in a hurry and just drive on by.  I think that ticket is a pretty expensive one and I have seen people pulled over for it.  Now there's some revenue stream for the city.  Also, I have to comment on the fact that I pick up my son at MW at least 3 out of 5 days per week, parking just south of Riverside Drive.  In almost 3 years I have yet to see one fight and the kids seem fairly well behaved walking home from school.  Just my observation on what I'VE seen.

[Thor]

Im not that near to a grade school, about 3 blocks away but I don see what the big deal is if they hang around talking to their friends. Why would you need to have police parked nearby to disburse them? Especially grade school kids. As I have mentioned before I do see them parked along the tracks in the evening and wish they would get out of their cars and walk around a bit.

[ChicagoTransplant]

Is that same site the BPD links to on their website?


Welcome.  You sound different than most south siders...prepared!
Good idea watching the entire city as well.  It's much quieter on the south side, but the crime that happens up north affects us all.

Yes, the link is on the the police website under the quick links section. Thanks for the welcome.