NOGLI Launches NESafe -- Building on Strength for a Safer Northeast Baltimore

[NOGLI Mark]

NOGLI Launches NESafe – Building on Strength for a Safer Northeast
Baltimore!

NOGLI – the Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville, Inc. –announces the
launch of “NESafe,” a new, comprehensive community safety initiative
serving NOGLI’s eight neighborhoods and coordinated in close
cooperation with HARBEL NECOP and the active participation of the
Baltimore City Police Department’s Northeastern District.

Made possible by the generous support of The Goldseker Foundation,
NESafe will initially focus on four efforts:

• NESafe Safety Coordination Task Force:
Leadership of BCPD Northeast District (NED), NECOP, NOGLI and
individual neighborhoods have committed to meet monthly to share real
data from both sides, discuss tactics and prioritize critical items.
Over time, code enforcement officials will also participate. The Task
Force will begin meeting as a small group in December of 2009, with
expansion to include all neighborhoods in 2010. NESafe has already
identified a series of individuals with proven track records in
implementing successful safety efforts both in and beyond Baltimore
City to participate and assist.

• NECOP Expansion and Promotion:
In partnership with NECOP, NESafe will work to strengthen and
coordinate Citizens On Patrol efforts.

• Safety and Services Online Clearinghouse:
NESafe.org, will act as a one-stop shop for “best practice”
information on community safety: how to forward information to your
NESafe Task Force representative; how best to pursue code enforcement
issues; how to get more involved in community safety. It will also
host private online forums to foster more effective discussion of
community safety issues in a pro-active fashion.

• SafeBlock Organizing:
NESafe will dedicate staff time to working with well-organized blocks
(and those making good faith efforts to become more organized) to
encourage, assist and in some cases reward those blocks that are
creating a safer community.

In the future, we look to add other elements such as physical
improvements and investments and emerging digital crime fighting
strategies.

It is tempting to think that more better police is all we need.
Whether it is or isn’t, we are not likely to see large increases in
police in the short or even medium term. Effective safety efforts are
“like dieting”: You have to do a lot of the work yourself. You won’t
see results overnight. There are proven methods out there but it is
usually a customized combination of approaches, discovered through
trial and error, that succeeds. And maintaining success is just as
vital and just as hard as initial progress. But if we are willing to
put in the time and effort – as many other neighborhoods have – we
will see substantial positive results.

Our communities enjoy great houses, emerging retail options, excellent
parks and quality educational choices. We are Baltimore’s most
racially and economically diverse set of neighborhoods. Despite these
rough recessionary times, we are faring well, outperforming other
similar areas in terms of real estate values and other indicators. At
our best, we are what middle class urban living can be and should be
here. But, the specter of crime threatens our well-being and our
property; it undermines our faith. Time and again, residents have
identified safety as the number one issue in the community. NESafe is
a coordinated response to this issue, bringing together successful
tactics and engaging the Police as partners.

For more information and to get involved, stop by NESafe.org
(currently replicating this note, with more info coming the first week
in December!).

We can do this. Be safe, with NESafe.