rolls in and it becomes even harder to change behavior that will most
certainly take a turn for the worse.
Folks - we need to take action and take it now.
If you want to help, please email us at
uptowncrimeblotter@gmail.com
We will create an email distribution list. We will listen to ideas. We
will organize the ideas and the people interested in taking back this
area of our neighborhood. We shall have event after event and do what it
takes to win this battle.
It can be done.
The bad guys know each other. The good guys do not know each other, and
this neighborhood is starving for this type of activity.
Send your comments ideas and suggestions, and keep them coming. We will
get an event together in the next 10 days.
14 comments:
Clarendon Park residents with the help of the Chicago Police Dept. are starting a neighborhood watch. The police will teach us what to do so we can be a positive force without putting ourselves in harms way.
I'm sure you can do the same for the Sunnyside Mall. There is a post about Clarendon Park on the Uptown Update with contact information.
If all the block clubs do this we can have a positive summer around here.
"I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees" - Pablo
I am definitely interested in trying to "take back" the Sunnyside Mall and make it more safe for all neighborhood residents to hang out there. I am tired of feeling like I can't go over there and read a book or sit on the benches enjoying the weather if I want to. Maybe we could organize groups of people (4+) to go and hang out there at random times, too. There is such a divide between the kids that hang out there and the non-drug dealing residents on the street. When you pass them, they don't look at you and you don't look at them. It's like living in parallel universes! I, for one, would feel a lot better making my presence known by addressing them in non-confrontational ways, of course(e.g. "Hey, how's it going?") and just hanging out there, if 1) I was with a group, and 2) the police were in on our efforts and would pass periodically when we are on a "mission."
If anyone is interested, I will be in the mall at Malden around 8 pm tomorrow. I was there tonight and could not believe the amount of gang activity! I really feel that if we make our presence known they will not continue to hang around.
I think one of the things that we can do to start taking back the mall is picking up the trash. I know it's nasty to pick up other people's trash, but it shows that there are people in the neighborhood who care about it. I know I always pick up a few pieces of trash on my way from my house to my car.
I also think it's a great idea to go to CAPS and get them involved, as well as planning an event and letting the police know about it for extra support.
I agree that this is very important, especially after the shots that were fired on Friday!
Lets get a camera there. I don't think it would be that hard. I don't know how many people are actually willing to hang out on Sunnyside to get shot at.Start a donation on PayPal.I bet UpTown residents getting together to put up their own camera because the alderman won't do it and neither will the city would also gain some press and put those people on the spot as well.
I think the camera idea is a really good one. Maybe we can bring this up at the next CAPS meeting. Sounds like something to get the GWBC involved in also.
I am not a big fan of putting up a camera. This is for a couple reasons. One, putting up cameras statistically do not reduce crime. (Hence the 31 shootings from Friday-Sunday we had in Chicago). Also, since starting the usage of cameras, crime has not gone down, it just moves other places. Two, when you put up cameras, people that are not from around here immediately think this is the worst of the worst neighborhoods. I, as much as anyone, want the gangbangers gone, but I also want the look and feel of the neighborhood to be a nice community and putting up a camera, to me, takes that right away and gives us a label and discourages people from wanting to rent/buy around here.
"I am not a big fan of putting up a camera. This is for a couple reasons. One, putting up cameras statistically do not reduce crime. (Hence the 31 shootings from Friday-Sunday we had in Chicago). Also, since starting the usage of cameras, crime has not gone down, it just moves other places. Two, when you put up cameras, people that are not from around here immediately think this is the worst of the worst neighborhoods. I, as much as anyone, want the gangbangers gone, but I also want the look and feel of the neighborhood to be a nice community and putting up a camera, to me, takes that right away and gives us a label and discourages people from wanting to rent/buy around here."
Agreed. This what police are for! How difficult is it to have a couple of cars to patrol that area several times a day. Especially if it's a known gang hang-out. I can't imagine a more convenient way to target gang crime than to focus on the areas where it seems to be taking place. Am I missing something? It seems like common sense to me.
As for trying to get the community together to purchase a surveillance camera - that's what we're paying police for through our taxes!
So you think a camera would deter renters/buyers, but not the gangs?
The police do come by the Sunnyside mall. They even park in it. During the times they are there, it is quiet. However, the police can't just sit there 24/7, and when they leave the gangbangers immediately come back. Some of us who live near the park have been talking about getting security cameras for condo buildings - it has apparently helped quite a bit in at least one location in Clarendon park. This would be facilitated if we could get input from other bloggers in buildings with their own cameras, as to which security companies they used and found to provide good service.
NOTE: lack of camera is not necessarily the alderman's responsibility. We have been told time and time again at CAPS that people living in that area simply do not call 911 enough to generate an adequate call volume that would demonstrate a need for a blue-light police camera (in other words, even if you see the gangbangers dealing, how much are YOU calling 911?).
I am all for the cameras.
We are working on getting info from different vendors on Cameras. If you want this info, please email me at capsbeat2311@gmail.com and I will put you on the security camera info list.
Also, if you know of a company that does good work on security cameras, please email me that as well!
We need to do things that are beyond just having the police patrol more (which they WERE doing this weekend, I saw them everywhere, but it isn't enough)
The positive loitering mentioned in this blog is a GREAT idea. If there is someone who lives in beat 2311 and wants to organize these on a regular basis or wants to spearhead this effort, please do so!!
And, if you want to do it through CAPS, please contact me and we can help advertise the event to get more people there, etc. I wish we could do this through caps on a regular basis..say every Wed at 6 and every Fri at 7 ..or SOMETHING like that.... but I need volunteers to help. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HELPING THROUGH CAPS capsbeat2311@gmail.com
Of course, posting on this board times you will be there is also great so neighbors can do this on a n ad hoc basis as well. The more the better!
For some reason, it's hard to get volunteers to help and I can't do this all myself..but I'm hoping with this crime going on lately that people will want to help and contact me and let me know.
-jami
capsbeat2311 facilitator
capsbeat2311@gmail.com
P.S. The Next caps meeting for beat 2311 is May 6th at 7 pm at truman college
There are CAPS meetings @ Clarendon Park the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 7pm. The next one is May 14th. I hope that each and everyone of you are there to make your voices heard!
I am the one who left the original idea about not liking the cameras. I missed the part of them being private cameras as opposed to the giant blue light cameras. What I stated was strictly based off of the blue light cameras, because they are highly visible to everyone. However, smaller cameras for the buildings doesn't seem as much of an issue because it doesn't seem to declare "hey we're a huge high crime area". Also, the cameras discourage renters/buyers...and no they don't discourage gang activity. The gang activity will move 2 blocks away where they can't be seen by the camera, thereby leaving everyone with this same problem of gang violence. So even though it's not right in front of our homes, someone else then has to deal with it, not to mention those of us that exercise around here that may run/walk/bike through the area the gangbangers moved to in order to avoid the camera.
Look, any solution at Sunnyside Mall that actually works is likely going to "move" the problem to some other area. That's just how it goes and I'm fine with that.
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