CB7 Public Saftey Committee 6/13/11 recap

Via the CCGH listserv:

Howdy,

As promised (and you know I would have written this up regardless), here's my personal take on last night. Up front, I am a member of CB7, however this reflection on the meeting is my own personal recollection and pov.

Overall, I feel the evening was a positive step in better integrating the community, Community Board and 72nd Pct. into a dialog that will increase the Pct's effectiveness in the community, hopefully in a more proactive way...not just reactive to crime and quality of life issues. Others may disagree, but that's my macro take.

The MOST important thing last night was the turn out. The CB7 meeting room was full. As Dan Murphy, Public Safety Committee chair pointed out, getting that many folks "to the table" was the best part of the dialog..."trust follows verification," as was said several times last night. It was a long evening, almost 2 1/2 hours. Almost everyone was able to ask questions, make statements or respond to the Pct.'s reports and comments.

In a nut shell, there seemed to be three types of folks who attended the meeting (besides the elected official's members, CB7 members and Board members):

1. Folks who had definite issues with how the 72nd Pct. is handling crime in their area (not just the spike in sex crimes)

2. Folks who had strong opinions on how the two sexual assaults and one rape had been handled by the Pct.

3. Folks who just wanted clarification as to all the information, misinformation, hearsay and gossip floating around between neighbors, the blogs, press and on listservs (like some of ours)

The 72nd Pct. officers listened, answered questions and restated their work in the area, sometimes a bit too defensively.

Deputy Inspector Pintos of the 72nd Pct. was accompanied by the Pct. Capitan and community affairs officer. Dep. Insp. Pintos started by giving an overview of the three sex crimes that have occurred since March 20 on 16th St, 27th St and 52nd St., the fact that they have apprehended the perp on the 27th St. incident with a positive ID and that the two other sexual assault victims did not finger the same perp, thus the Pct. and the NYPD are still investigating the two other crimes.

He spoke of the community outreach the Pct. has done recently (attached is one of the brochures they have been handing out) and what they have done reactively and proactively in the community since the sexual assaults. He also reminded the community that they need to work with the Pct. on increased awareness and support. The later being something that folks felt needed to be earned a bit better.

Questions were asked by those in attendance about the "perceived" lack of police presence in the areas in question, which turned out not just focused on the norther part of the Pct., but also 39th St. in the proximity of a long-standing offender, the Tropicoso bar and club.

While the Pct. was defensive of the "percived" lack of presence, they did listen to the suggestions of stepping up drive-bys and increased public interaction. One attendee mentioned getting the names of the local beat officers, per section of the Pct., for clearer lines of discussion between the community and the Pct. Dep. Insp. Pintos will be e-mailing CB7 (and me) the list, which will be sent out to the community.

There were specific questions asked, and criticism (ranging from displeasure to outrage) about the police presence, enforcement and investigation in specific areas, such as 16th St. and 39th St. While I saw that the Dep. Insp. "listened" to the comments, I was disappointed in some of his dismissive attitude on what the Pct. could do, and in one case, calling a participant a "liar" when they attempted to explain their point of view on the way the investigation was handled on the attempted rape on 16th St.

Overall, I believe the Dep. Insp. understood the community's lack of true belief that the Pct. was doing as much as it could to proactively police the entire Pct. district. Dan Murphy pointed out the obvious struggle that is occurring in the north of the Pct.: a huge population boom, yet no additional officers to help police the larger community...in all neighborhoods for that matter.

To have something "actionable" after the meeting, as the full Board meeting this Wed. night @ 6:30pm will be the last before the summer break, I believe the committee will discuss:

1. Better communication between the 72nd Pct. and CB7 to facilitate better communication to the community

2. A commitment from the Pct. that via CB7, members of the community (whether they be community groups, block assoc. or individuals) have the ability to report ongoing issues with crime and quality of life situations (petty crime, noise, public intoxication, cat calls, etc.) without always having to rely on 9-1-1. Let the community be some of the "eyes and ears" (as Jane Jaccobs would say) for the Pct, but the Pct. must take those observations and complaints seriously.

3. More transparency from the 72nd Pct. on crime in the area. Having offers answer simple questions about crime (unless it pertains to specifics of a case) and being "partners" with the community, not just enforcers.

I wish I could say everyone in the room walked away with a better outlook on the police presence, enforcement, investigations and general interaction within the Pct. I'm sure there are those who feel that they learned more about the recent sexual assaults, what the Pct. has done/needs to do and that CB7 is a good forum for this type of discussion (Dan indicated a follow up meeting after the summer break). There are those who are still skeptical that the Pct. is doing as much as it can to police within the community. And of course those who felt the meeting really did nothing but provide lip service for the Pct. and a soap box for complaints from the community.

Personally, I'm in the middle of the first two. I hope the 72nd Pct. will come through on their promises, have listened to the community and will do everything in their power to increase their presence in the community, albeit with diminished resources.

Again, what goes for all sides: trust follows verification.

I will keep folks up-to-date as to what is recommended by the committee Wednesday night. I encourage discussion from folks who were there, as this is just my own (long) report and point of view.