I want to chime in about all of the recent issues. First, thanks to everyone who is posting. The spread of info is essential. While I appreciate Lynne's intentions, I wonder if it is going overboard. There is already a Zone 5 Community Safety group that meets monthly on the 2nd Tuesday, 7PM at the Union Project. I'm not sure that having the HPCC liaison with the Zone 5 police will help things. I'd encourage everyone to get involved in the Zone 5 Community Safety meeting instead. Let the police do their job and catch the their rather than expect them to be working with another community group. I think the most important piece in the email however, is the idea of reactivating a neighborhood block watch. This is something that should ALWAYS be active, not something that gets activated and deactivated. As for more police presence in the neighborhood- the City of Pittsburgh has a shortage of police and police budget. Thee isn't any neighborhood where there isn't a need for a greater police presence. Be active by asking the Mayor to actively work on this issue. -- Thomas Waters thomaswaters@mac.com about.me/tcwaters thomascwaters.com is a 2012 Beacons of Equality Finalist. Vote and help me win the award! http://www.ringsofequality.com/beacons-of-equality On Dec 27, 2012, at 10:58 AM, Lynne Porterfield <ljporterfield@yahoo.com> wrote:

Dear Neighbors,

Lately there has been an alarming increase in the number of emails posted on the listserv about neighborhood break-ins and thefts.

It's time for us to act . So let's start a conversation and get some specific safeguards in place.

Yes, we need to be vigilant. What does that mean? * Is there a pattern we can look out for? * Are there descriptions of the perpetrators?

What preventative measures can we take? *Install deadbolts? *Reactivate the Neighborhood Block Watch?

*How can the HPCC work with Zone 5 Police Station to get more information and more timely information from the police?

*We need someone from the HPCC to be in contact between Zone 5 and the rest of us. (A former commander at Zone 5 sent the listserv frequent reports about police activity.)

*We need more police presence around the neighborhood.

*We need the police officers who work in Zone 5 to be informed about the situation. (A police officer investigating a break-in yesterday, reportedly told the homeowner that the officer was not aware of the increase in recent break-ins and thefts.) Really? How could that be possible?

Let's schedule a meeting to bring neighbors and Zone 5 together to determine specific steps to take and progress made toward restoring safety to the neighborhood.

Is it possible for the Highland Park listserv to create a folder or email address to collect suggestions and responses from members in order to forward them to HPCC and Zone 5?

-- REDISTRIBUTE ONLY WITH PERMISSION OF AUTHOR Delivered to: thomaswaters@mac.com <https://mail.highlandparkpa.com/mailman/listinfo/neighborhood>

Not sure if this is the appropriate place to mention this but I noticed the mention of deadbolts below and figured I would pass this along. A state police friend of mine saw my two locks on the front and back door and said that while they were fine, an additional lock placed about a foot from the top of the door would better resist a good kick. Like I said just passing on the info Chris Sent from my iPhone On Dec 28, 2012, at 10:09 AM, "Justin J. Cummings" <jcummings@howardhanna.com> wrote:

I ran into a detective who was investigating a burglary on the northside and asked him about the recent break-ins in highland park.

He said that they almost had him yesterday. He's white, 20-30 years old. Average build. May have a European accent. Was wearing a vest yesterday and was shoveling snow.

He has mostly been on the hillside (Farragut & Sheridan).

If you see him, call 911 immediately and don't scare him off. A woman confronted him yesterday and the police missed him by 90 seconds.

Thanks- Justin

** Sent from my iPhone so please excuse any typos **

On Dec 27, 2012, at 8:46 PM, "Lynne Porterfield" <ljporterfield@yahoo.com> wrote:

...

Dear Neighbors,

Lately there has been an alarming increase in the number of emails posted on the listserv about neighborhood break-ins and thefts.

It's time for us to act . So let's start a conversation and get some specific safeguards in place.

Yes, we need to be vigilant. What does that mean? * Is there a pattern we can look out for? * Are there descriptions of the perpetrators?

What preventative measures can we take? *Install deadbolts? *Reactivate the Neighborhood Block Watch?

*How can the HPCC work with Zone 5 Police Station to get more information and more timely information from the police?

*We need someone from the HPCC to be in contact between Zone 5 and the rest of us. (A former commander at Zone 5 sent the listserv frequent reports about police activity.)

*We need more police presence around the neighborhood.

*We need the police officers who work in Zone 5 to be informed about the situation. (A police officer investigating a break-in yesterday, reportedly told the homeowner that the officer was not aware of the increase in recent break-ins and thefts.) Really? How could that be possible?

Let's schedule a meeting to bring neighbors and Zone 5 together to determine specific steps to take and progress made toward restoring safety to the neighborhood.

Is it possible for the Highland Park listserv to create a folder or email address to collect suggestions and responses from members in order to forward them to HPCC and Zone 5?

-- REDISTRIBUTE ONLY WITH PERMISSION OF AUTHOR Delivered to: jcummings@howardhanna.com <https://mail.highlandparkpa.com/mailman/listinfo/neighborhood> -- REDISTRIBUTE ONLY WITH PERMISSION OF AUTHOR Delivered to: kim@hample.com <https://mail.highlandparkpa.com/mailman/listinfo/neighborhood>