PAC 2 Meeting
Monday, August 10, 2009
Durham Public Schools Staff Development Center
2107 Hillandale Road
Durham, NC 27704
6:00 to 8:00 p m
Facilitators: Cheryl Shiflett scjdurham@aol.com
Bill Anderson TheOcean1@aol.com
SELF INTRODUCTIONS
COMMUNITY CONCERNS
Increased Break-ins at Northgate Park. We are scared.(to be addressed later)
Scarsdale Village Same problem. Increased Break-ins. Police are doing all they can. They are coming through a wooded area which is actually a City Park and are knocking down the wooden fence. The heavy brush needs to be cleaned out and since this is a City Park, it was referred to Parks and Rec.
Bulk Item Pick-up: Bed frame was put at street three weeks ago. Has not been picked up. Mitch Archer will take the address and phone # and find out what happened. Should have been picked up.
Large Recycle Carts: David Harris reports a lot of complaints from people who are unable to maneuver the large carts. People can apply for a permanent=2 exemption and use the smaller bins and have pick-up at their door rather than the street. If you are exempt and have this problem call 560-4186.
Recyclable items: Literature states no metal lids. However lids are acceptable. Put them in the cart for pickup.
Magnolia Point: 2-6 people in this area ride motorized wheelchairs to the grocery store and Medical offices. 1/3 mile in this area has no sidewalk and this means these folks have to take their wheel chairs into the Street and this is very dangerous. Mike Woodard asked them to email the exact address and he will check to see when this area is scheduled for sidewalks.
Whippoorwill Park: The gate is not being closed and locked until very late at night and this allows for a lot of suspicious activity in the area of the Tennis Courts. They were advised to find out who is responsible for locking the gate and it should be locked at the same time as all the other Parks which is 9:00 p m.
Colonial Village: They report another Pawn Shop on the corner of Club & Roxboro and this is causing increased undesirable traffic on this corner. The problem will be solved when the city issues building permits, as this building is coming down and this corner will have new modern stores in the future.
500 Block East Club: Resident has a lot of parked cars on the sidewalk and in the yard. Cars on the sidewalk is a police matter and in the yard it’s Zoning. Karen Burd will check on this.
Northgate Park break-ins: As reported these have increased. They have also noticed that when a Pawn Shop opens in the area, the break-ins increase. The question was asked if the Police monitor these Pawn Shops. No, but there is a Pawn Investigator who cross references serial numbers of all merchandise in the Pawn Shop with the serial numbers of the stolen items. This is why it is so important to record serial numbers of all your property. Pawn Shops are required to list all merchandise they get.
Captain Smith reports that Break-ins have increased 30% over last year and the
Police are very concerned. 17 a week is a low number and we have had as high as 45 a week. The week ending August 1, reported 36 in District 2. Durham compares about the middle with towns our size. Convenience Stores are being heavily hit by breaking out a window and taking cigarettes. Several arrests have beenmade. Finger prints are being obtained and this leads to more arrests. We are working very hard to catch as many as possible. Latest tactic is kicking in a door, even when the alarm is armed, grabbing what they can and leaving very quickly.
Make yourself a hard target. Go outside at night and look at your house from the street. If TVs or Computers can easily be seen, then we are easy targets. Close blinds and curtains at night. Do not leave items visible in your vehicles. If you remove your GPS, also remove the connector. Watch out for each other, use common sense and make it as hard as you can for them to get into your house quickly.
Someone asked, Do you recommend alarm systems versus camera?
Alarm system is better because the quality of the picture from most cameras is not clear enough for identification. Motion lights outside are very good and also dogs.
Be careful who you talk to in your neighborhood. Know your neighbors. One neighborhood reported a 9 year old boy was questioning neighbors in the Scarsdale Village NH and giving the information to thieves.
Repeat offenders are a major problem. Captain Smith has a list of the Top Ten. We know who they are, what they look like so if we spot them, we can call the police.
Magistrates set bails on a case-by-case basis and this allows them back on the streets quickly even if they are repeat offenders. There was a program in the past called Court Watch. Our presence in the Court Room would demonstrate to Judges and
Attorneys that we are very interested in how they arrive at their decisions.
Remains found in the Eno have not been identified yet.
The victim of the shooting on Watts Street last night is o.k.
Code Red telephone calls (reverse 911) went out for the missing person, but he has not been found.
These calls are made to anyone who has a listed telephone land line number. Time Warner digital phones are also listed. Most cell phone numbers are not.
Concern was voiced about the Electronic highway signs depicting the Silver alert, Asking you to call a # for more information. They thought this was a poor use of the sign. The State runs this program. Contact them with suggestions.
DEPARTMENTAL UPDATES:
Cynthia Mebane-Watts, Community Relations Coordinator
She reports a theft of the copper wires from the Senior Center. An article was included in the Pac 2 Newsletter with instructions of how to prevent this is some cases.
Weed and Seed Program: The mission of this program is to weed out the negative aspects of a community such as drugs, gang activity crime etc. and Seed in human service programs for those involved. This initiative is centered on the Bragtown area. A list of meeting dates and location was included for this very worthwhile program. Contact Cynthia for more information.
City of Durham Homeownership & Foreclosure Prevention Workshop will be held at the Herald Sun Newspaper Building on Pickett Road, Thurday, August 13, from 5:00 to 8:00 p m.
She thanked everyone for their calls and emails and she can be reached at 560-4570 or Cynthia.mebane-watts@durhamnc.gov.
Parks and Recreation:
Marcia and Ann Harrison reported on the many events going on at Edison Johnson. Brochures were provided. They have a new computer system and you will be able to register on line for many events when this is perfected.
Reminded us that all Parks can be adopted to provide TLC for those Parks in your Neighborhood. Contact Keep Durham Beautiful for details.
Mitch Archer: Solid Waste
There is still some confusion about the new schedules and large recycle Carts, but overall things are going well. The large Carts are to be used by everyone except, those who live in Town houses and Condos and those permanently exempt for other reasons. You may keep the old, smaller blue bins for your own use or you can put them into the large Cart for pick-up, if you have no use for it. It20will be recycled. If they do not pick up the small ones inside the cart, please call Mitch Archer. It was mentioned that use of small bins pinpoints that these people may be elderly or disabled and might be targets for crime.
It is not allowed to put out a large cart and small bin at the same time. Please do break down all card board as large boxes, unbroken take up too much space. Continue to call Solid Waste if you have any questions.
PROGRAMS:
Officer Pearsall with H.E.A.T. Team gave a presentation on Gang Awareness. It is not illegal to be in a Gang. They may wear the uniform, talk the language among other things, but it is not Police business until they commit a crime. Gangster Rap Music is the street music for Gangs. The colors they wear and how they wear all have significant meanings. You can also learn a lot about them by going onto Web pages, U Tube and Face Book. In our Schools today females now make up the fastest growing group. If you see strangers walking in your neighborhood, call Officer Pearsall at 475-2291 and he will investigate.
Mark Elander
Neighborhoodprotector.com
He designed a website that features:
Crime map with mouse-over detail function.
Crime log that sorts crime by proximity to users address.
Community event and bulletin board options.
Users can upload crime events and details not available from other sources.
Effective tool for Neighborhood watch groups.
Current membership is 360 and there is no charge to join. He encourages questions and suggestions. You may sign up on the Website and all personal information is protected.
PAC 2 Elections:
Cheryl Shiflett, Co-Facilitator has another year to serve.
Bill Anderson, Co-Facilitator took over last year to complete an unexpired term.
He was unanimously elected to serve until the end of the 2010 term.
Carolyn Best will remain as secretary until the end of 2010 term.
Jim Tuttle, volunteered to be Treasurer. This was accepted gratefully with no opposition.
Meeting Adjourned.
Carolyn Best
Secretary