SoHu Newsletter - attached and in body of email.
Lisa Siedlarz
SoHu Neighborhood Association
March 28, 2012
Greetings all! Last night’s multi-block watch meeting was standing room only. Led by Assistant Chief Reddish,also in attendance were Assistant Chief Casanova, Chief Esserman, Sergeant Jason Minardi, and Officer Perry. As you know, this was a special meeting to address the rash of burglaries in East Rock.
There is a lot of information below, so please read carefully.
1. Since February 1, there have been 20 burglaries. Yes – TWENTY.
a. The majority of these burglaries were forced entry. Forced entry means a window was broken, or a door was kicked in.
b. The majority of these burglaries were during the daytime. The problem is – the detectives can’t discover a pattern because no one can pinpoint a time. People leave for work say 8:00 or so, and come home at 5:00 or 6:00 to discover they have been robbed. That’s a 9 or 10 hour window.
c. The good news – the detectives have a couple of leads. They lifted finger prints from a few locations and the results have come back with a person with a record. They also have video footage from East Rock Pharmacy, and Casseus. With the help of the probation office, they have identified the man who robbed these businesses and are now looking for him. They are pretty confident that this man was also responsible for some of the burglaries.
2. What YOU can do!
a. Be vigilant.
i. If you see someone snooping around yards or peeking in windows, call the Police non-emergency number: 203-946-6316. If you haven’t already done so, program this number into your phone. You never know when you will need it! Also – if you feel comfortable doing so - ask the person what they are doing. Often a simple, “can I help you?” will do the job. And if you are not comfortable doing this, perhaps take a picture from a distance. I think all cell phones come equipped with cameras, some quite good! Now you have something to share with the police and the block watch.
1. If an officer responds and is dismissive of what you report (like what happened last week) insist on getting a supervisor on site. If you are suspicious of something, it’s probably with good reason. No officer should ever dismiss something we are reporting. Get a supervisor – and also let the block watch captain know so that it can be reported to the district manager.
ii. If you see someone snooping around yards or peeking in windows, notify your block watch captain. Folks, this is important. There is nothing worse than finding out that someone was robbed and 2 days later hearing that someone saw something suspicious but didn’t say anything. WE ARE OUR BEST CRIME STOPPERS.
iii. If you see a crime in progress – a window being broken, a door kicked in – call 9-1-1. And – please let your block watch captain know.
b. Care about your neighbors. Find out who lives next door to you. Start saying hello. Strike up a conversation. Now you have someone you can tell when you are going out of town. Maybe they will even take your mail in for you. When you know your neighbors, it’s only natural that you’ll keep an eye out for each other. When you feel like you are amongst strangers, one tends to (pardon the cliché) keep their head in the sand.
c. Vacation and/or travel
i. Tell your beat officers when you are going out of town. They WILL keep an eye on your house.
ii. Tell your district manager when you are going out of town. They WILL make sure your beat officers know this.
iii. Tell your neighbor with whom you are now friendly. The WILL keep an eye on your house.
iv. Tell your block watch captain. They too will keep an eye on your house.
v. Don’t let your mail pile up on the porch. Ask a neighbor to take it in.
vi. Get a timer for a lamp or two. Make it look as if someone is home.
vii. These are simple things folks.
d. Stop advertising what you own!
i. Folks. At night, when your blinds are open and your lights are on, it’s just like walking by Macys at Christmas. Your TV, laptop, whatever else you have in view is indeed on view. Close your blinds. Simple.
ii. You know how you love all that natural light during the day, so you draw your blinds up? We’ll someone could walk up and peer inside. My suggestion. Do you know what sheers are? Light, airy curtains that allow light in, but obscure the view. They are pretty inexpensive (though you could get fancy ones too). Hang them up in your windows.
e. Lock your windows!
i. Sadly, the safety tabs on vinyl windows are indeed breakable. So when you are not home, close the windows, and lock them. This is especially true for 1st floor apartments.
f. Light up the night!
i. We periodically go around with flyers to remind people to turn their porch lights on. A well light home is less likely to be a targeted home. Simple. Turn your porch lights on.
g. Consider getting an alarm.
h. If you keep your bike outside, lock it up securely! Not to a sign post, which thieves simply dismantle. Not to your porch railing, which they will simply kick apart.
i. Cars. Stop leaving things in your cars! Or at least put it in your trunk. It takes a second to smash a car window and take anything in view.
In other news!
3. Lt Reddish will be sworn in as Assistant Chief on Friday at 2:30. This is at city hall. You are invited to attend. I’ll be there.
4. Recycling reminder!
a. BROWN totes are for TRASH.
b. BLUE totes are for RECYLING! We are single stream. That means you can dump your glass, your paper, your corrugated cardboard all in ONE place. SPREAD THE WORD!
5. Update on Gabe, State Street stabbing victim.
a. Many of you ask regularly. It looks like Gabe has finally turned a corner. After a lengthy stay in the hospital after the 2nd surgery he had developed an infection. The infection is responding well to antibiotics and for the first time in three months he has begun to gain weight. His recovery is still a long one, but all reports from the doctors are positive.
That’s all the news for now. See you around the neighborhood! Lisa
Lisa
53 Pearl
(203)623-0857
WWW.SoHuNewHaven.org