In an effort to create greater
community awareness the Bellingham Police Department Anti-Crime Team has begun
sporadically attending neighborhood association meetings.
Officer Harper,
who has been on the Anti-Crime Team for two months, said that attending neighborhood
association meetings will help them to better understand neighborhood-specific
issues on a more personal level.
The Anti-Crime
Team attended Barkley Neighborhood Association’s meeting on Feb. 22 and briefly
presented on the background and mission of the team.
“They have not attended a meeting before and I
know people within the neighborhood don’t know about them,” Bob Putich, Barkley
Neighborhood Association president said.
Putich has been a
Barkley resident for 12 years and was re-elected at the Feb. 22 meeting for a
second two-year term as president.
The Anti-Crime
Team works at the neighborhood level along side residents, neighborhood
associations and government agencies to target neighborhood-related issues and
track trends in reports.
“A
big issue for Barkley residents is car prowls and graffiti, and this team has
given the Police Department an avenue to deal with these types of small
crimes,” Putich said.
In
2012 the Barkley Neighborhood had 21 reported incidents of car prowls, Officer
Harper said in an e-mail, which was lower than the city average of 29.
The Anti-Crime Team
formed in 2009, but with recent community outreach efforts hope to make their
presence known with neighborhood residents.
“I think anytime
that police are in neighborhoods and making themselves known and available it’s
a good thing,” Penny Wise, Barkley resident since 2004, said.
The
Anti-Crime Team encourages reporting all crimes, even if they seem minor.
“No
call is too small,” Sgt. Almer, head of the team, said during their
presentation at the Barkley Neighborhood Association meeting.
Sgt.
Almer also pointed out that a primary purpose for the team is to act as a
“spearhead” for transmitting information to the appropriate departments.
“When
we get a call we can facilitate and get that information to different units
that will assist in a better manner,” Officer Harper said.
Sgt. Almer used an
example of an issue at a stop sign to describe what he meant by “spearhead.”
If there is a
particular stop sign in a neighborhood that is continuously being ran through,
causing dangerous driving conditions for other people on the road, call the
Anti-Crime Team and we will be able to get that information to the proper people.
Potentially working with the Bellingham Public Works Department to get a camera
set up near the stop sign or a tracking device that would allow officers to better
understand a neighborhood-specific issue.
This is a unique
element to the Anti-Crime Team.
Often time when a
call comes into the general 911 dispatch that information just goes to the one
or two officers on duty covering that particular location. That officer will fill
out a report, file it and potentially forget about until the next time a
similar incident occurs. The Anti-Crime Team grabs the miscellaneous reports
that might otherwise fall through the cracks and tracks that information. This
takes a lot of burden off of patrol units, Officer Harper said.
Putich feels that
he can really see his tax dollars going to work with this team.
“An average person
can live their whole lives and never really be involved with the police, this
team allows them to do some good for a larger group of the population for very
little expense,” Putich said.
Attending
neighborhood association meetings is only one way the Anti-Crime Team is
conducting community outreach.
As the President
of the Barkley Neighborhood Association, Putich plans to assist the team in
creating greater community awareness.
“A large portion
of our neighborhood is the business district, so educating merchants and
patrons about this team will be a positive thing. People like to shop where
it’s safe,” Putich said.
Also in the works
is a social gathering for neighborhood residents, like a picnic when the
weather gets nicer.
“That’ll be a
great time to get a couple of the guys from the team to come and have some
casual conversation with residents and answer questions they may have in a
comfortable environment,” Putich said.
The potential date
of the picnic is still unknown, but the Barkley Neighborhood Association
website will be updated as it is decided.
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