Anyone who attended the block watch captain’s meeting Wednesday evening at City Hall could see in a New York second just how committed the block watch captains are to their respective neighborhoods. Yet time and again the Coeur d’Alene Police Department appears to be blowing off these committed, attentive citizens’ efforts to make their neighbors and neighborhoods safer. What’s with that?
Looking out for our neighbors is not new. It’s always been as simple as getting to know our neighbors and our neighborhood. If someone or something seems wrong, good neighbors speak and act appropriately. It didn’t require meetings and a formal organizational structure. We didn’t need membership cards and secret decoder rings. It usually happened pretty informally over barbecues, pie, and coffee after Dad got home from work.
Times have changed. Dad and Mom are both working. Dad’s or Mom’s career may require a transfer to a different city every couple years. Communities have become less permanent and more transient. It has become more difficult to form protective bonds of trust with neighbors.
Knowing who does and does not belong in the neighborhood was and still is one of the most effective deterrents to crime. In US and Canada communities, law enforcement organizations have offered to facilitate neighborhood awareness and communication. Typically the loosely structured organization that resulted was called neighborhood watch or block watch. Its moniker was less important than its purpose: enhance neighborhood and community safety through increased citizen awareness and communication.
Judging from what I’ve seen and heard at block watch captains’ meetings at City Hall, the City of Coeur d’Alene has failed to grasp the purpose of neighborhood watch.
Go to the Coeur d’Alene Police Department’s Community Relations webpage. Then click on the link to the Neighborhood Watch webpage. There you will get some idea about why the Police Department should support block watch or neighborhood watch programs.
To better understand how neighborhood watch programs are supposed operate, go to the National Crime Prevention Council’s Neighborhood Watch webpage.
One essential key to neighborhood watch organization success is training and communication for volunteers. Volunteers need to be taught how to safely and correctly recognize behavioral and physical indicators of criminal activity in their neighborhood. They need to be taught how to effectively communicate timely information accurately to appropriate authorities or agencies. Positive and meaningful communication and training must be done frequently enough to sustain volunteers’ interest and commitment. The information and training must be timely and relevant. So must communication. The block watch captains need to convey information and training to their neighbors.
Which brings us back to Wednesday night’s meeting at the Coeur d’Alene City Hall.
The meeting started with Assistant City Administrator Jon Ingalls talking about the City’s sidewalk problem. While it may have been interesting, it was hardly relevant to the purpose of the meeting.
The Community Relations Sergeant, Christie Wood, was not at the meeting even though she is ostensibly responsible for coordinating volunteers. The Police Department’s presenter was Chief Wayne Longo. He spent a few minutes outlining the City’s upcoming events before he took questions. Then he got an earful.
Block watch captains complained about repeatedly trying to reach their police department contacts to leave information and get guidance, only to be told to leave a number and someone would call them back. One block watch captain never received a promised call from Police Captain Steve Childers. Another left two messages for Sergeant Wood, only to be called back two weeks later. One left a message for Sergeant Paul, and it took a week for him to call back. Chief Longo understands that timely communication with community members is essential for community oriented policing. It sounded as if some of his staff members haven’t quite grasped the concept.
Block watch captains also complained about the Police Department’s failure to provide them with regular, timely, useful information. (No, Sergeant Wood, sending one press release to a block watch captain does not constitute regular, timely, useful information.)
Chief Wayne Longo, gets it. He said, “There’s a subliminal life that exists in town that I think a lot of people don’t know is out there.” He was clearly referring to the below-the-radar criminal culture in Coeur d’Alene. Now, Mayor Bloem and the Council and the Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Association and the Concerned Businesses of North Idaho might deny a criminal culture exists, but if it did not, there would be little need for the North Idaho Regional Violent Crime Task Force. It exists, folks, and not just downtown but also in our residential neighborhoods.
After Chief Longo and Code Enforcement Officer Scott Dinger finished, Mayor Bloem made some mercifully brief and totally irrelevant remarks about how the 2009 Palm Sunday church services at the Kroc Center will be attended by many officials from the Salvation Army. She also talked about how many new cards have been issued at the library.
I’m sure it was apparent to Chief Longo that the block watch captains and other citizens at the meeting want to help make our community safer. He clearly understands the importance of community involvement to help his department achieve its objectives. He needs to convey his understanding to his subordinates and then follow up to make sure they’ve received the message and are acting appropriately.
Could it be that Christy Wood is over extended with her job description, plus being on the NIC Board and the CdA School Board? Perhaps she should give up her board seats and work on her job to keep the citizens safe. This is not meant to be critical of her good intentions, but all these jobs require energy and attention to detail. For example, attention to details such as getting estimates on projects before moving ahead with spending taxpayers money. In my mind, this requires one to have time to focus. I would appreciate people’s thoughts on this. If Christy is reading this I would like to hear her thoughts on whether she is over extended or can do all her important jobs well. I ask this with respect for her hard work and good intentions.
Comment by Mama Bear — May 31, 2008 @ 8:54 am
Mama Bear,
That’s a very good question and an excellent observation. The reason she was not at the block watch captain’s meeting was that she was attending an NIC Board meeting. According to her bio on the CdA Schools website, she is also “attending college full time to pursue her master’s in law justice studies.” Really? Where?
Comment by Bill — May 31, 2008 @ 9:10 am
I admire Ms. Wood’s dedication to the public and to education, but people need priorities. I recognize that it my own life. For me, family comes first. Then my job. Then I have room to do only one thing beyond that, if I want to do it well. Ms. Wood’s plate seems to be overly full. I wonder how she prioritizes the things she has committed to the public?
Comment by Dan — May 31, 2008 @ 9:23 am
Since Christy Wood is involved in so many very important city and county affairs I really think a dialogue on this subject of over commitment is needed. Thanks for commununicating on the is, Bill. I would like to hear if others have the same thoughts that I have had.
Comment by Mama Bear — May 31, 2008 @ 9:24 am
Sergeant Cupcake overextended? Say it ain’t so!
Comment by Pariah — May 31, 2008 @ 9:44 am
Now, now…Let’s be nice.
Comment by Mama Bear — May 31, 2008 @ 11:49 am
Pariah…How dare you make me laugh when I am being civil.
Comment by Mama Bear — May 31, 2008 @ 11:51 am
Look, Sgt. CupCake is NOT overextended. Her day job is PR, he volunteer work is boosterism and she is a student. None of these are real world tough gigs. She can do this. She has proven that she can. So there. For more fun and laughter, log on to Democrat TV and watch their rules committee implode.
Comment by Pariah — May 31, 2008 @ 1:53 pm
Be nice.
Comment by Mama Bear — May 31, 2008 @ 3:43 pm
Here is a challenge for Sgt. Wood, PR operative for the City of Excellence in Goverenment. Seems as though Diamond Parking has a contract to enforce parking ordinances for our fine city, including the 3rd street boat launch. The launch is barricaded due to high water, thus no access to launch, thus no boat trailers. Diamond (the city) is putting $15.00 parking violation tickets on all cars parked in the boat trailer spots! They are also ticketing boats that are parked overnight, the ones that have been left “waterlocked” so to speak and can’t take them out. Yup, Excellence in Government.
Comment by Gary Ingram — May 31, 2008 @ 4:57 pm
Gary, This is ridiculous. By the way, did you know that Diamond is granted a bounty (my word, definitely not the city’s) of $1.00 for each ticket written? It is part of the contract. I wasted two years on the parking committee thanks to the city liason who seemingly did nothing other than attend meetings and say cannot do, cannot do. You might ask Don Johnson for his opinion on this commmittee. Also, we had nothing to do with the contract with Diamond. Susie
Comment by Susie Snedaker — May 31, 2008 @ 8:30 pm
I’m commenting on garys post.I’ve walked Tubbs Hill alot for years and the Tubbs Hill parking lot, used to have a sign on a pole that warned people not to park where the boat trailers are parked.Why isn’t a sign there now?Is it because,the city likes the revenue that those tickets generate?Mostly out-of-towners get ticketed.
Comment by kageman — May 31, 2008 @ 8:36 pm
A number of us who ran for office did not receive the Police Questionnaire in a timely fashion. Al Hassel mentioned it to me the day before our panel discussion and I asked Christy about it. She did email it to me, albeit last minute. Only three candidates had access to the full police department study referenced due to the timing, Ron, Al, and John Bruning. They entered the room for the discussion like the Three Musketeers in step. Christy was responsible for notifying the candidates.
Comment by Susie Snedaker — May 31, 2008 @ 8:40 pm
mr ingram you mention the boat launch parking, does that ordinance, or sign say it is only enforced when boats are able to be launched, or is the ordinance in effect 365 days a year?
Comment by reagan — May 31, 2008 @ 9:03 pm
I’d love to know the ordinance number for the boat trailer restriction. City Ordinance 10.26.040 covers the Third Street parking lot. There is nothing that I can see in there restricting use of part of the parking lot to boat trailers.
Comment by Dan — May 31, 2008 @ 9:56 pm
Reagan, when I drove out through the kiosk, I asked the attendant why they were putting tickets on the cars when obviously no boat trailers could be there. He responded that they had a contract with the city to inforce the parking regs and it applies year around. He said he thought it was goofy, too but the city insisted on the enforcement and he was telling people to take their complaints to the “city”. There was approximately 15 cars in the trailer section, all with tickets. I looked at one. 15 bucks. I was alerted to this danger when I pulled into park and some young folks walking by told me, “you’ll get a ticket, all these cars have tickets’. Then I happend to talk to gal who said she took a bunch of tickets that had been placed on her boat as it had been there about a week and told the attendant to do what he wanted with them. She wasn’t going to pay them. Hers and other boats were stranded because of no way to take them out with the ramp flooded and closed. Enough of this story.
Comment by Gary Ingram — May 31, 2008 @ 10:16 pm
Gee, give the city a break. They need that revenue from stranded boats. LCDC is sucking them dry and they have to get money from some where to plow the streets.
Comment by Mama Bear — June 1, 2008 @ 6:24 am
I just discovered something that may help others when typing in the comment box. It is difficult for me to read the small letters when typing so I zoomed it to 150%, typed, and then set it back to 100%. My eyes are now happy.
Comment by Mama Bear — June 1, 2008 @ 6:45 am
Am I correct in thinking that Park and Rec receives the revenue from the parking lot, but the city in turn gives a percentage to the Downtown Association for functions?
Comment by Susie Snedaker — June 1, 2008 @ 7:53 am
Twice during her “mercifully brief” comments at the block watch meeting, Mayor Bloem referred to the City’s “strategic plan.” So when she took questions, I asked if the “strategic plan” was on the website. At that point she admitted that her reference to the “strategic plan” was in error; that what she spoke of was a list of priorities. She said the list of priorities drives the strategic plan. Here is a link to the list of the City’s 2008-2009 High Priority Goals.
Okay, so where is the strategic plan? Why is it not on the website?
Comment by Bill — June 1, 2008 @ 9:01 am
She also mentioned something about Councilman Kennedy working on the city’s Homeless Task Force. If my memory is correct, that is the group who plans to end homelessness in ten years. At the rate taxes are escalating and with the city claiming foregone amounts and the college collecting foregone amounts, current homeowners might become homeless.
Comment by Susie Snedaker — June 1, 2008 @ 8:14 pm
In regard to Block Watch, we put together a group in our neighborhood, twice, actually, over the years. I can say this for sure – law enforcement’s participation is minimal to non-existant. I learned, however, that there is considerable value in these four simple things:
1. Having a list of your neighbors’ names and phone numbers, and better yet, really getting to know them.
2. Learning that if you see or hear some little thing that seems odd, there is actually a good chance that your instincts are right. Don’t hesitate to call the neighbor who may be affected, regardless of the hour. Don’t get all shy about it.
3. The posting of blockwatch signs, as well as the installation of security lighting where needed (a shared expense in some cases) – both being crime deterrents.
4. Learning that, statistically, neighbors paying attention to what’s going on in their neighborhood prevent more crime than expensive security systems.
That said, reports can be had that can alert us to crime trends in or near our neighborhoods. But bottom line, it’s all about you and me – talking, sharing information, becoming a real neighborhood. That’s what I’m talking about!
Comment by mysterylady — June 1, 2008 @ 8:34 pm
mysterylady,
Those are all very effective methods.
What has disappointed me most about CdA’s program is that it has not been passing information to the block watch captains and neighborhood groups. Chief Longo mentioned the criminal subculture and that most people don’t really know it exists. Well, helping the blockwatch people know its forms, signs, and existence is Sergeant Wood’s job with the police department. If she wants to be a police officer when she grows up, she needs to learn that being a police officer is a career choice, not a resume-building hobby.
There are other effective measures that are simple, inexpensive, and also very effective. Maybe I’ll post some of them one of these days.
Thanks again.
Comment by Bill — June 2, 2008 @ 7:09 am
Mystery Lady, Many years ago, Elizabeth Henkel and I organized the first neighborhood meeting for Fifth and Sixth Streets – Foster to Harrison – after learning that neighbors were afraid to walk in the neighborhood. Over fifty people attended and met their neighbors and a few organized Block Watch groups. The successful result was that neighborhoods were strengthened and the issue resolved.
At several meetings, I had asked for block watch captain notification by email for issues that might affect our neighborhoods. Issues such as assults that occur in relatively close proximity, should be the subject of notification rather than learning of the issue several days later in the paper. Chief Longo concurred at the last meeting.
Comment by Susie Snedaker — June 2, 2008 @ 8:01 am