[RP TownTalk] car break-in

Sun Oct 11 01:41:20 UTC 2015

Miss Heather,
I am confused by your note, specifically para 3.

Can you explain to us on the list whether you are talking in general
terms when you are referring to the police in that paragraph or if you
are talking specifically about the Riverdale Park Police Department when
you use the phrase "But when the evidence overwhelmingly points to
police bias and when too many of my friends report police harassment on
a regular basis," ?

Thanks
Bob Smith

On 10/10/15 9:27 PM, Heather Cronk wrote:
> I appreciate the background, Sarah.  Unfortunately, the idea of calling
> the police under the policy of, "If it looks weird, give us a call"
> doesn't make me feel any better.
> 
> The problem is that a community policing effort that relies mostly on
> subjective standards still relies on an individual's perception of
> danger, or even on something being "askew." I'm all for community-driven
> solutions that supplant a police force -- but the type of effort you're
> describing still sounds like it's grounded on individual perception. 
> That individual perception is, of course, also grounded in systems of
> oppression that many of us learn at an early age.
> 
> I know that we all want to believe that "our" police force is different
> than those that flagrantly abuse their power and harass people of color
> for little more than walking down the street (as in the case of Eric
> Garner in NY) or rolling through a stop sign (as in the case of Sandra
> Bland in TX) -- and I hope that's true.  But when the evidence
> overwhelmingly points to police bias and when too many of my friends
> report police harassment on a regular basis, I would really rather not
> call the police unless I observe someone in immediate danger.
> 
> I appreciate the conversation and hope that our police force is
> "listening in" via email.  I haven't yet been able to attend a community
> forum with the police chief, but I hope to do so soon.  And unless we're
> hearing from the police chief that the Riverdale police force has
> undergone extensive cultural competency training and has an explicit
> commitment to de-escalation, I'll remain skeptical of calling the police
> in anything but overtly dangerous situations.
> 
> -Heather
> 
> 
> 
> On Friday, October 9, 2015, Sarah Wayland <sarah.wayland at gmail.com
> <mailto:sarah.wayland at gmail.com>> wrote:
> 
>     This is an important point, Heather. Let me provide some explanation
>     & clarification, in the interest of starting a dialog. 
> 
>     I used to think exactly what you wrote. Many years ago (wow, I think
>     it's actually been almost 20 years now) crime was worse in our town,
>     and a group of us started up a Neighborhood Watch program. (our
>     current mayor, then a new resident of town, was actually one of
>     those primarily responsible for setting it up!) As part of our
>     training, we spent several hours getting trained by the police who
>     told us when to call and what to call about. This was before cell
>     phones were in common use, so we carried police scanners with us as
>     we walked through the neighborhoods. 
> 
>     I was stunned to learn during the training that the police *wanted*
>     us to call, even about little things. I had thought this would be
>     annoying to them, and that they didn't want to hear about random
>     annoying little things. It turns out that what seems "a little off
>     but not harmless" can often be the information that helps to the
>     police solve a crime. The rule the police gave us was, "If it looks
>     weird, give us a call."
> 
>     I learned that things like "cars parked on our side street that
>     aren't usually there" might be a drug deal. I had no idea! Now that
>     I know what to look for, I'm sorry to say I can spot a drug deal
>     pretty easily now. They happen *fast*, as do most crimes. 
> 
>     Of course the problem with this is that it's a slippery slope. A
>     neighbor of ours was watching his friend's car while his friend was
>     away on travel. Another neighbor called the police about the
>     "strange car parked on the side street", and our neighbor's friend's
>     car got towed without even a notice! That's exactly the kind of
>     thing we don't want! 
> 
>     In the 20 years since we started that Neighborhood Watch program, my
>     car has been broken into twice, and my garage has also been broken
>     into. It was never horrible, just a slight violation. The time my
>     garage was broken into, a neighbor's shed was broken into just
>     prior, and another neighbor called me because she was very shaken
>     up, having just witnessed the shed break-in. Little did I know that
>     while I was talking to her on the phone, my garage was being broken
>     into! 
> 
>     That string of shed break-ins, by the way, was solved when a
>     resident called the police when he saw a guy jumping over a fence.
>     The police caught the guy in the act of stealing stuff from another
>     shed because they had a lead from someone in the community who
>     called right away.  
> 
>     Of course these folks usually commit their crimes when no one is
>     looking, and they operate quickly. It's hard to even know whether
>     you are seeing something weird, and I can personally attest to the
>     fact that sometimes you don't even realize how weird it is until
>     hours later.  
> 
>     To be clear, what I don't mean by "weird" is "someone who looks
>     different than me and my neighbors". 
> 
>     But what *is* weird? This write up on the City of Lonsdale (MN) is
>     quite consistent with what the police told us during our
>     Neighborhood Watch training: 
> 
>     http://www.lonsdale.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B8E39A899-29E8-4B18-AF14-ED1081ACCC6B%7D
> 
>     I keep thinking about another neighbor whose home was broken into
>     while I was home. I heard a loud bang, but because of the noise of a
>     nearby construction site, thought it was nothing unusual. I didn't
>     call the police. My neighbors lost many things that were not only of
>     monetary value, but also of great sentimental value. I still feel
>     really really bad about that. I should have called. 
> 
>     -Sarah
> 
> 
> 
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