5/20/2002 Partners Against Crime District II Minutes
* District 2 staffing and data gathering
* Animal Control issues
* Community Life Court
* Police outreach to neighborhoods
* Retirement of Officer Adams
* ABC applications
* Housing update
* Impact team update
* Housing inspection update
* Community concerns
* Election of new officers
District 2 staffing and data gathering: Capt. Clark spoke to clarify a few points. Firstly, the four officers recently added to District 2 were filling existing vacancies; this did not constitute the return of an additional beat. District 2 still has three vacancies-2 officers and 1 corporal. Secondly, Capt. Clark explained why there may be discrepancies between the crime data we see reported on the PAC2 listserve and DPD data. The crime reports posted to the listserve are generated daily, based on crimes reported, and represent the most accurate information immediately available. Subsequent investigation, however, may result in changes, such as the recategorization of some incidents.
Animal Control issues: Mike Turner, Director of General Services for the county, was present at this meeting to address some of the issues recently raised on the PAC2 listserve, particularly animal control. He introduced Animal Control administrator Cindy Bailey and Animal Control Advisory Board chair Kim Willis. Ms. Willis is a member of the North Carolina Task Force for Abolishing Animal Fighting; her specialty is dangerous dogs and dog bites. She also chairs the Animal Control Advisory Board, which reports to the county commissioners. The seven-member board is composed of one veterinarian, one representative from the district attorney’s office, one member appointed by the Animal Protection Society, and four at-large members.
Cindy Bailey reported on Durham’s first felony dog fight trial, in March, which resulted in fifteen felony convictions. Spectators from this dog fight are currently standing trial for their participation. She then addressed the dog pack issue, distributing data on complaints received by Animal Control and displaying a map showing Forest Hills as the principal dog pack problem area. Animal Control is using traps to catch these dogs, but they have problems with people vandalizing the traps (which cost $139-$200 each) or releasing trapped animals. Successfully trapped dogs are photographed, and a photo book is being compiled and will be going up on the web so that people can identify the dogs. In the event of any animal problem, Ms. Bailey urged citizens to call Animal Control ASAP and provide as much information as possible. Even when Animal Control isn’t able to apprehend the problem animal, the information is still useful to them in establishing patterns. During business hours (M-F, 8a-5p), call Animal Control. At any other time, call 911; there is an animal control officer on call for emergencies at all times. 911 communicators should be aware of how to handle animal-related problems; however, if there’s a problem with the response to such a call, it should be reported to Cindy Bailey and she will follow up on it. She also warned us that most holidays, with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas, tend to be high bite days. Animal Control can be called for problems with wildlife in the house. However, they cannot help with birds nesting in chimneys or squirrels in the attic.
Ms. Bailey also addressed the issue of rabies, warning us that there is rabies in Durham and that new rabies cases are reported weekly. Rabies statistics actually underrepresent the extent of the problem, because animals are only tested for rabies if they may have bitten a person or pet. There are many more instances of wild animals who are most likely rabid, but who are not actually tested to confirm it. The top carriers of rabies are bats, raccoons, and foxes. If you find a bat in your house, you should always call Animal Control and have the bat caught and tested for rabies, because bats have been known to bite people in their sleep, and you may have been bitten without being aware of it. Animal Control should also be notified of any raccoon sighting in the daytime. Raccoons are nocturnal and will not normally be out by day; if a raccoon is out and about in the daytime, it’s probably because the raccoon is rabid. If an unvaccinated pet comes into contact with a rabid raccoon, state law mandates that the pet either be put to death or subjected to six months of veterinary quarantine at the owner’s expense.
Community Life Court: Jim Harding, Durham County District Attorney, spoke about Community Life Court and animal control issues. PAC2 and PAC1 were instrumental in starting the Community Life Court here about 2 ½ years ago, following the model of other cities including Boston and NYC. This court is devoted to dealing with quality-of-life issues, including animal control, littering, vandalism, and zoning violations. One district court judge and one assistant district attorney are dedicated to Community Life Court. The court’s mission is not to criminalize, but to hold the violator accountable, stop the violation, and educate the public about the issue. Mr. Harding passed around a useful manual explaining what citizens can do if they have an issue that might be appropriate for Community Life Court, and giving contact information. Newman may try to get some of the information from this manual up on the PAC2 website.
Police outreach to neighborhoods: Brooke Whiteford expressed PAC2’s gratitude to the officers who participated in the March 17, 2001 outreach in the Green Street area. This effort involved city officers from District 2, Sheriff’s Department officers, and people from the city housing department, many of them working off-duty. Officer Tony Scott and Capt. Clark spoke about plans to do a similar outreach to the Latino community on Leon St. They hope to use police interpreters to do a one-on-one outreach. Considerations in dealing with the target population include pervasive fear and mistrust of the police, and a high rate of illiteracy which renders the distribution of written information ineffective. Last year’s outreach helped develop some of the procedures that may be useful in upcoming efforts.
Retirement of Officer Adams: PAC2 recognized and thanked Officer Jim Adams, who has just retired as the Crime Prevention officer for District 2. Officer Adams reflected on the growth and development of PAC2 that he had witnessed during his tenure in District 2, and on the ability of the PAC to identify and mobilize resources.
ABC applications: Officer Scott Baker introduced two ABC applications. The first, for the Braggtown Shell on N. Roxboro, was a renewal. The second was a new application for Thrills From the Grill, a full-service catering business at 2827 N. Roxboro. Officer Baker reported no complaints on either, and PAC2 voted to approve both applications.
Housing update: Dept. of Housing liaison Lynwood Best brought us an update on the situation with the Mangum St. bridge in Old Northwest Durham. There have been ongoing problems for the past few years with the criminal activity of a homeless individual living under the bridge. The area has now been inspected and the problem is being addressed.
Impact team update: We then heard an update from Mitch Archer with the impact team, who reported 92 concerns from District 2, including two internal referrals, one from housing and one from the gang unit. Sixteen illegal dump sites are being investigated. A neighborhood cleanup took place in Duke Park on April 20th, also focusing on picking up shopping carts around several stores. Graffiti was removed from several locations. Mr. Archer also reported that the summer youth litter program, formerly menaced by budget cuts, had been funded by the Housing Dept. for 17 kids and 2 supervisors. The program will be active in 2 districts for six weeks, starting June 3rd.
Housing inspection update: Bernie Fields of the Housing Dept. reported that we once again have two inspectors on duty in District 2, and inspections are increasing. George Carter handles inspections north of I-85, with a focus on Cherrycrest, off Horton Rd. Larry Rochelle is doing inspections in Walltown. The Old Farm area, which was targeted last June for abandoned vehicles, is being targeted again in response to a request from the city council. In a recent court case involving the property at 2137 Perennial Drive, a superior court upheld the decision of the Community Life court. This decision, however, may also be appealed. The owner was given one year supervised probation and ten days’ suspended sentence, to be served if he fails to comply with written orders regarding the property.
Community concerns: The floor was then opened for members to bring up community concerns. An elderly woman living on Maryland Ave. was victimized by a con artist who stole her purse. Trinity Heights residents reported suspicious activity on Berkeley St.; Capt. Clark will arrange to have an investigator check this out. A question was asked about a recent shooting on Lancaster St.; the incident was an attempted armed robbery, in which the victim was also armed, and they shot each other. An arrest has been made. In response to a complaint about an oversized vehicle parking on Onslow St., Capt. Clark stated that there is a city ordinance limiting parking hours for vehicles over 6.5′. There was a complaint about inadequate enforcement of the noise ordinance in the Lancaster and Englewood area, particularly against repeat offenders. Another resident brought up noise and noise enforcement issues in the 400 block of Macon St., where the problem has been ongoing for a few years and is now getting worse. In response to a question about call tracking, Capt. Clark said that if the complainant can identify at least the block, if not the specific address the noise is coming from, then calls will be logged and tracked. Noise complaints are a priority 3 call, but if an officer has not been dispatched within 30 minutes, then someone will be sent from another district if necessary. The current noise ordinance does not stipulate a decibel level, merely that the noise constitutes a “disturbance”; this language has not yet been tested in court. Capt. Clark said that citations are issued 80-90% of the time on noise calls, and are standard procedure when the police are able to identify the person responsible for the residence. Lt. Sarvis emphasized the importance of the complainant as a witness.
Election of new officers: Finally, elections were held to approve the new slate of PAC2 officers. Brooke Whiteford is stepping down as co-chair after three years of service. The other current co-chair, Newman Aguiar, will serve one more year. Terms for the new officers are structured to provide continuity, with one co-chair being elected every year for a 2-year term, and a similar overlap for the secretary and treasurer. Jeff White was elected to the vacant co-chair position, and will serve two years. Lori Harris was elected to a two-year term as secretary. The new treasurer, Fred Lamar, will serve a one-year term. June will be an overlap month for transition between the old and new officers, and the new slate will assume their duties in July. Newman also spoke about plans to formalize the relationship between PAC2 and the neighborhood associations by having each of the District 2 neighborhoods represented by a member of their board who would attend PAC2 meetings and act as official liaison between PAC2 and the neighborhood association.
Meeting adjourned.