RECENT COMMENTS
Recent break-ins on 22nd/23rd
We’ve heard about a few recent break-ins on 22nd/23rd Streets.
On Thursday night (July 20th), houses on the 400 and 700 blocks of North 23rd Street were broken into. Someone also broke into a house on the 500 block of North 22nd Street.
In the first of the 23rd Street break-ins, the thief/thieves entered an open window of the house and made off with a small amount of cash, savings bonds and chicken from the fridge. According to the police, they then went to the next house, broke into the shed “for the THIRD FREAKIN’ TIME THIS YEAR”, and used a shovel to pop out one of the kitchen windows. There, they stole less than $5 in change, a $20 Timex watch, and the least-favorite bicyle (“a kelly green Gary Fisher Gitchee Gumee with a suspension seat post and generally crappy components”). In the process, the perps opened and dumped out the contents of all but one drawer and chest in the house to make sure they weren’t missing anything really good.
None of these incidents have showed up yet on the crime map (which does show a break-in on the 400 block of 23rd on July 21)
Well thank God there wasn’t a Cannondale or Giant there. That would have truly been a crime.
Open window???!! And was there a security alarm involved in either of these? Ya gotta know we’re still in a war zone here ….so fer christ’s sake take precautions already.
We ♥ our alarm system.
You must protect yourself. The criminals don’t need our help to make us victims.
Please also keep a look out for a $5 planter in shape of an elephant that someone stole from my front porch :p ….but seriously, as an officer friend of mine says “they’ll steal the color off your clothes if they can” so if you want to keep it, lock it up!
Well said Heather.
ok so add to that a laptop from a house on the 800 block of N 24th St. i came home saturday morning after being gone for a few nites to discover it was missing. after shoring the place up (there was NO sign of forced entry) i left thinking things would be ok. they broke in AGAIN sometime between 7pm Monday nite and noon on Tuesday. this time, they overturned sofas, opened every drawer, cabinet, and emptied their contents onto the floor. all for an iPod, videocamera & some DVD’s. they also helped themselves to my beer. they left behind them what looked like the remnants of a tornado. this time they’d knocked out a window AC unit and helped themselves to everything. i’ve been here for over 2 years and never had an incident. silly me, i thought they were looking for something specific, or targeting me personally, i guess i should have figured they were stupid enough to break in for things like $5 in change and a shitty bike.
that sucks…when I first moved to the hill, someone notice my b/f had moved out and that I was working a lot of hrs. they stole a dvd player, jar of change, nicnacs, tuna, soup and a box of crackers (they left a pack for me). They locked the door from the inside and climbed out the window. I didn’t notice till I went to bed. They had been looking under my mattress for cash. Anytime you’re away let your (trusted)neighbors or police know to keep an eye out for strange activity.
christy — you’ve notified the cops, yes? was your window AC unit upstairs or downstairs?
At the last Union Hill CA meeting, Lt.Snawder mentioned that they’d been tracking a wave of breaking&entering that began in Fulton and was then passing through the Chimborazo area. He anticipated that they might move towards your area. He said the the B&Es are generally happening at night, and that they seem to watch and know when the house is vacant.
john,
yes i notified the cops both times. and the unit was on the first floor, yes. i am partially to blame…i’ve lived there over 2 years and had never had an incident like this…so i guess i got a little too comfortable. unfortunately, i don’t feel comfortable staying in the house anymore so i’m seriously considering packing up and moving on.
christy,
I was terrified after my break-in. I had screws put into my windows that it would only open a little, made the landlord put bars over the windows, got to know my neighbors really well and got a big dog. I think that by taking precautions you will feel safe again. Good luck
did these houses that were broken into have nicer things to take? basically, are you saying that they took $5 in change and a crappy watch because they chose those over other items like dvd’s and electronic equipment?
The research on repeat vicitimization suggests that once a burglarly victim…twice (or thrice) a burglary victim. This is due to the fact that crooks are pretty rational and probably a bit lazy. They got away with it once, they feel they will give it another shot, and so on…
Moroever, studies on the issue of gentrification and crime suggest that gentrifying areas see a decline in violent crime, but an increase in property crime. The old, “more to steal” theory. There also may be a bit of class anger involved. Sort of like why employees steal off their employers…they justify it with a Robin Hood mentality.
Anyway, those who have been vicitmized a few times might want to see if the PD will extend its crime prevention specialist (they do audits for businesses) to assess if there are any environmental (and adaptable) reasons why you are such a good target. Dark alley access and egress would be one biggy here in Union Hill. Uneven surveillance is another. (Not to mention the old AC windo unit) and non-tempered glass on the ground level.
Bob, thanks for the information. I’m pretty sure I don’t have enough lighting in the back there and i’d sacrifice the cool in order to make sure my house is safer. the cops never told me there had been a recent rash of break-ins, they simply convinced me that i’d pissed someone off so badly that I was the target, not the items inside my house. they basically had me scared to death. when i read the postings online today i was pretty livid. i’m a female who lives alone and they had me imagining the worst possible things…stalking, etc. it sounds to me like it was more a crime of opportunity than a crime of passion/vengeance. i feel a little better, considering. thanks, again. the alarm people are coming this evening. i don’t think i can afford to forego the alarm any longer.
I’m up on 33rd St and Clay. My place was broken into back in Feb. on the day I left for vacation. Someone saw me loading the bags in the car late that morning. They got electronics, DVD’s, digital camera, etc. My alarm went off and must have scared them off because the left a lot of items untouched. A friend secured my place and when I returned I improved the lighting outside with motion sensors and better locks all around. It is best to catalog items in your house with purchase cost for insurance. Just be on the look out when entering your home for anything out of place because a crime of opportunity getting interupted can be dangerous.
In the early spring the police were doing some foot patrols, which seemed pretty effective. Maybe the officers tuning in may wish to consider that tactic again. Does Richmond have mounted police on horses anymore? Mounted police are a deterrent to criminals (subconsiously intimidated by the animals and height of the officer) and are good p.r. with the neighborhood.
Our back door was kicked in one day while we were at work. The kick triggered the alarm which scared the person off and generated a call to the police within minutes. Having the alarm provides us a peace of mind well worth more than the cost.
This might have already been posted on CHPN and if so I ask that you excuse the duplication. An upcoming workshop should really help with this and other problems.
On Saturday, 7/29, there will be a ‘Problem-Solving Workshop’ at Powhatan Community Center at 5051 Northampton St (continental breakfast & lunch).
‘Policing for Prevention Group’ is partnering with the Richmond Police Department. The agenda includes:
1. Anatomy of a problem
2. The Laundry List
3. Clarifying the Problem
4. Defining Success
Those attending are asked to RSVP to 804.646.0572.
Being broken into is such a violation of personal space and security, but should also be a call to stand up and fight back. Make the effort to better secure your property and take the step to get involved in the neighborhood. Alone we can create a fortress that no criminal can pierce, but together we can create a safe, secure and livable neighborhood that doesnt accept crime as inevitable.
The UHCA and the Friends of Jefferson Park are just two groups that provide opportunities for creating change in our community. Peace.
Christy, I would like to know the names of the officers that scared you if you still have them. Ann, thanks for the plug for the Sector Training this sat at 8:00 am. I sent out 1,200 invites and received 38 rsvps. None of the scenerios involve B&Es however everyone will learn a lot from the workshop and more importantly will establish a raport with their officers. It is not too late to rsvp. Lieutenant King and I talked about the B&Es today and I am sure he is going to adjust our focus area. Like John said we have been in Fulton for the past month. On a positive note we did stop a guy the other day that was caught with the goods walking down the street. Not sure if he is our guy but I am keeping my fingers crossed. Please pass the word to all the neighbors about the training. We should be done by 3:00 pm.
Lieutenant Snawder,
I don’t recall the specific names of the officers. I also don’t mean to make it sound like they were intentionally scaring me. But they did not let me know that there had been other similar break-ins within a very close range of my house. They were very sympathetic and professional. However, having seen the descriptions of the other recent break-ins, I believe they’re a more common occurence than I was led to believe. It’s easier to deal with what was probably a crime of opportunity than having someone convince you that YOU were the target. i would love to be able to make the workshop this saturday, but i have to work.
Please let me know when the next workshop will take place. Thank you for your kind and informed responses.
“did these houses that were broken into have nicer things to take? basically, are you saying that they took $5 in change and a crappy watch because they chose those over other items like dvd’s and electronic equipment?”
Christy,
yes, that’s exactly what I meant–and I’ve wondered if they thought about coming back to get everything they left. We were out of town when the house was broken into, so maybe they thought no one would notice the back window they popped out and that they could come back at their leisure.
Josh and I are in the process of buying an alarm system, so if you want the names and numbers of additional security systems, let me know.
I’ll be at the training on Saturday, and will be happy to share my notes with you afterward if you’re interested.
Some crack head knocked down my backyard fence and tried to climb onto the second story balcony. I was upstairs watching TV and kept hearing this thumping noise. I walked downstairs and noticed a ladder on the bottom porch leading to our 2nd story balcony. Nice feeling! After flipping on several lights and about 9 cops no crack heads were found. Just a reminder, thieves will do anything to break in your house, including your balcony. The solution is a Big dog, motion detectors and new locks.
Our house was broken into yesterday while we were at work, despite our big dog, up on 23rd and Grace. The details are very similar to the other postings, but apparently, the suspect is still at large.
I wish we had seen this posting earlier; it would have made us more aware.
Would there be any interest in starting a crime log email list serv through the Church Hill Association? I would be happy to work to facilitate that. I know my friend in Ginter Park has one and it has been hugely helpful with all the b&e’s over there.
gp — I’d love something like that.
Go to the address below to see crime incedent information for Churchill:
http://www.ci.richmond.va.us/applications/crimeinfo/pdcif_Summary.asp
Heather, why not just check out the nifty Crime mapper that John has created on this very site. It takes that ugly tabular data and plots it on a Google map.
The chpn crime map is mostly up to date, I get the new data every few days. The police’s source is usually a few days behind, so it tends to even out.
Hello. I just found this web site. My home was broken into on July 2, 2006. I am in the 3000 block. There are four people living in this house, with four different vehicles and four different time schedules. It is very evident to me that the house has been watched for sometime, most likely locals, although the police tried to tell me it was an inside job. The police were less than helpful, if not downright ignorant. Crowbars, or something, were used to pry under the window and snap the locks. The thieves entered on two levels and into two apartments at the same time between 8:30 and 10:30 pm.
Naturally, and thankfully, no one was home, as the thieves intended. The police did not show up until 24 hours later to ckeck my home even though I had spoken with them the previous day to ask them to verify for me that my house had been broken into and secure the house! Another whole day, after I called the department numerous times (now making this two days!!!) the police showed up to take a report. Of course they took NO fingerprints, photos or completed any other investigation which MIGHT just lead them to whoever is robbing us all. I lost a lot…a Trek bike (inside the house), my laptop, jewelry, cash etc…they got quite a haul here.
Florence
Back again to finish letting you all know what went down at the first of July. The police also asked me if I had any enemies, parties etc… After reading all these posts on break-ins I find it ridiculous to even suggest that scenario. The officer decided that my break-in was NOT an inside job because there was another break-in the following weekend between 33rd & Chim with the same MO. Duh? It seems to me that a little more surveillance on the part of the police and a lot less supposition might decrease what seems to be epidemic in this area. No wonder there are so many houses on the market! How sad….
Personally, I am back to supporting the NRA.
Florence
A student of mine at a previous post did a thesis on the impact of detectives on burglary clearence rates. As one might suspect, burglary detectives are not all that effective in solving such crimes (despite us being in the CSI era of raised expectations). The obvious reasons relate to limited resources per offense committed. Turns out, a vast majority of these crimes are not cleared, and those that are, get solved either by luck (see Lt Snawders post here), or, more likely, someone with a beef turning the perp in. Last week there was a story on the TV news of a man from Ginter Park who had his house burglarized. The story led us to believe that the crime was solved because he was told by the RPD to check all the pawn stores to see if he could identify any of his property. Well, he did find his stolen watch at a pawn shop, and the reporter informed us that pawn shops are required to take a polaroid of folks who are pawning jewelry. Not sure if the person pawning was the person burlgarizing, or, if anyone was arrested. But, this story to me said more about how overwhelmed police are on the issue of burlgarly that they are leaving the investigations to the victims.
Perhaps we need to incentivize pawn shop owners to turn in suspected fencers. As most pawn shops are basically usury rate lending institutions, and their merchandise merely a front to that purpose, they probably would not care much about possibly stunting their mechandise flow all that much.
Another suggestion I have is for the police to select one or two egregious B/E’s and dedicate a disporportionate level of resources into solving a case or two. No doubt, if they succeed, they will find a repeat offender.
A bike was stolen from my house on the 500 block of 32nd Street 2 weeks ago. I called the cops and they said they would call me back but never did. I wonder how many burglaries go unreported because people get fed up from not being able to get a hold of anyone. It would make the crime rate appear lower.
Well there you go…I definitely watch too much CSI like television. What could we all do “en force” to stop this? There is no doubt these are some locals right under our nose. I suspect mine is only a couple doors down. My doors and windows were locked, but if they want to get in they will. I really do hope that “what goes around comes around.” I took a look at the map and was shocked at the number of crimes in this area. I guess I should have looked at that before I moved here, not after.
See also richmondcrime.org for a city-wide view. The crime here in the East End really isn’t any worse than any other neighborhood downtown — I’m always surprised at how ‘active’ the Fan is, compared to how safe I used to perceive it to be.
Hey everyone,
Wanted to put you on alert (and if anyone has the crime watch e-mail.. let them know)
At 11:00 last night, while I was at home asleep, someone smashed in my back door and entered my house. 2018 Princess Anne Ave. The facts are that (he?) grabbed my purse from the kitchen and went back out the back door window.. and he is still out there with my purse and its contents..
The reality was that I heard him break the door and smash the glass and footsteps in the glass.. I grabbed my cell phone and went out my second floor window and was perched on the edge of my roof hidding behind a tree branch in my nighty while calling 911 and waiting for the police .. not knowing where this guy is.
The police arrived very quickly and brought a canine in and let him go in the house first. They were, as always, both professional and caring. I am fine, just a little shook-up… but now ANGRY at yet another violation of my person.
If anyone sees a black and white purse or purse contents, prescription eyeglasses, credit card, drivers license, keys, remote.. let me know.. I searched all the dumpsters and trashcans in Jefferson Park and around my house this morning early.. I found my shovel and trowel at a neighbors and an unknown shovel was left at my house.. probably what he used to smash the glass.. the police have that if you are missing a shovel.
Property crime, as measured by the National Crime Victimization Survey, is about twice as high as property crime actually reported to the police (these offical police reports often cited, or UCR data). There is also the issue of how police code crimes. Some cities have seen some pretty shady statistical handling of crime indidents. Philly, Chicago, Atlanta…etc…have all have been accused of systematically underreporting and downgrading serious crimes to less serious ones. These frauds occurred due to increasing political pressures applied to police leaders to deduce crime. So yes, J, crime is quite a bit more prevelant than official reports. This would affect the rate of change, as the base is typically higher in reality. The relative incidence of crime within a city might be sililar though, even considering underreporting, but only if there is no reason to believe that certain communities underreport crime more than others (they do), or certain police districts within a city underreport crime. That said, the real property crime rate has gone down significantly over the past 30 years in the US..see.. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/house2.htm
karen–sorry to hear about last nite, glad it’s only an emotional injury.
It makes me mad to hear about all these burglaries in our neighborhood. We’ve never had a problem at our house, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an attempt. We frequently see suspicious characters on the street pushing lawn mowers, carrying tools, or even with shopping carts full of things that look a whole lot like stolen goods. Sometimes they hide them in abandoned houses and things. Where should we report this info?
Does anyone else have random people ringing their doorbell at all times of night and day? I never answer the door but wonder if they’re there to scope out our house. Usually our dog scares them away. Does putting up a front fence helps keep vagrants off your front porch? People seem to feel completely comfortable sitting on our porch for a drink and a smoke. This is a mere nuisance compared to burglaries, but the audacity of the behavior strikes me as a common theme (and an overall lack of respect for private property).
We have an alarm and a loud dog, but I’ve often thought about getting safety film put on our windows. Has anyone used this kind of product? It makes your glass somewhat shatterproof and can also help with hurricanes, UV rays, etc. I don’t think it’s too expensive. You can have it installed professionally or DIY. You can find info by googling “saftey window film.”
Just found this website, in case anyone is interested:
http://www.solarfilmva.com
I know nothing about this company but they may be able to give you info about safety window films.
And the end-all crime reduction strategy offered by the Philly Daily News, a city that has been going through some pretty tough crime times as well.
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/opinion/15115307.htm
Yes, the “shoot-a-tourist” strategy.
As far as how to reduce home break-ins, I think we could probably use an arrest/ conviction/incarceration or two pretty soon. A motivated offender will tend to overcome a good many of the impediments placed in his/her way. I mean, robbing an occupied house at 11pm in a fairly non-isolated part of this neighborhood on a slow crime night and getting away with it!? What else can you do?
The police were searching for someone who attempted to break in to a home around 34th and Broad this morning. There were lots of officers in marked and unmarked cars circling the area speaking with residents and looking for the suspect.
Does your block have a Crime Watch Block Captain? If not, I can drop a form off at your house. Block Captains can be a deterrent to crime by helping to organize your block to be more attentive to potential criminal activity and helping residents take steps to prevent becoming a victim.
Contact me if you need an application form. Peace.
Florence (and all other victims),
I completely empathize with your situation. it’s a shame that things like these are happening at such a ferocious rate lately. I don’t recall these B&E’s being so commonplace before, but it seems now they’re happening all over. I do, however, want to thank John and whoever helps him out with this site, for providing us this excellent resource/sounding-off board. Being able to read about other people’s experiences goes a long way in the healing process. Especially when you’re being told by the police that it’s YOU they’re after, not your belongings…and thanks to all out there who provide excellent advice and resources so we can try to make the neighborhood a little safer.
Mark your stuff. There is equipment which indelibly engraves personally identifying information on most anything you have which might be stolen: cameras, IT components, etc. At the police Problem Solving Seminar a week or so ago, ‘Risk Reactor’ pens were handed out free. They ‘write’ invisible and are black-light sensitive. Our police department has personnel which frequent pawn shops and scan stuff. If my stuff is in a pawn shop and gets scanned and there’s nothing on it, that’s my bad. Call first precinct and ask Lt. King how to get one of the pens and just scribble stuff all over your personal items. Or there are engraving-type pens which make permanent and visible marks… There are some easy things for us to do that might help in the recovery, if such should be necessary. As for having people sit on your front porch, tell them to leave. I’ve had to do it from time to time. Or sit down beside them wearing your gun.
>>>Or sit down beside them wearing your gun.
nice.
Florence,
Why did the ignorant police think it was an inside job? Is there more to this story?
Just noticed the Police Department offers this House Watch form. They’ll keep an eye on your house if you’re away.
One break in and one attempted break in on the 3500 block of E Clay St last night between 7 and 10pm.
Some details about the break-in on the 3500 block of E Clay St Saturday night…
They (or maybe he or she) broke in between 7:30 and 11:30 while we were out. They entered by ripping out (maybe prying apart?) a simple ‘hook and eye’ type latch on the door to the walkway between our house and then reaching up through a dog door to unlock the deadbolt on the back door.
Once inside they opened and rifled through or dumped out most of the drawers and cabinets in the house. They did all this without regard to the 65-lb. lab-mix we have.
A lot of what they did once inside doesn’t make much sense to me. They took one laptop and left another that they clearly moved. They lifted up the mattress in the master bedroom and put a box of tissues underneath it (looking for cash or a gun????). Here’s some of what they took…some heirloom jewelry, a laptop, an Xbox, some postage stamps, a bunch of change and a little cash, a couple bottles of liquor, a lot of candy, some fruit, a blanket and a backpack.
When we called 911, two officers showed up promptly, looked around and asked us and some neighbors questions. A detective came and spent several hours with us taking fingerprints. I found the police to be professional and helpful throughout. They told us there had been a rash of break-ins recently and the night (or maybe two) before a similar break-in happened near us on Marshall, but the dog was apparently more aggressive and it was hurt pretty bad.
We had been pretty complacent about turning on the alarm system because we thought having the dog would be enough to make them look elsewhere, but it’s on now. Additionally, we replaced all the deadbolts with the kind that requires a key on both sides and installed floodlights.
There was another incident in the 2400 block of E Marshall St last night. The thief came in through a rear window, took an air compressor and left. The cops got there within minutes and stopped a couple of people but that didn’t pan out. PEOPLE: keep your stuff locked and your alarms turned on. The police are working hard to catch these numbskulls but until they do, let’s not make it easy for them to make us victims!
Although the B & E’s have gone down some, just one is too many. The citizens have done a great job in helping to alert the officers to suspicious activities, however, we have encountered another problem.
Please do not help the criminals break in to your houses. We have had some recent break-ins where the suspect is using the victim’s ladder to get into the home. The ladders were in plain-view during daylight hours either from the road or alleys. If you have ladders in your yards, please chain them to a tree, deck post, or secure them in some way. And please, watch out for your neighbors. Let each other know if you have someone coming to work on your property while you are at work. Many thefts occur during the daytime hours and I believe these are often by people posing as workers. No one really pays much attention to someone working on a house or yard during the daytime. Thank you and stay safe and secure in your homes and neighborhoods.
Thanks, Lt. King and welcome to the neighborhood!
yet another break-in yesterday on the 500 block of 24th street. during the day, entered through rear window/door, the usual.
We moved to Church Hill in February, and felt relatively safe until the warm weather hit – when it seemed that crime increased substantially (our garden hose nozzle was stolen from the side of our house one Sunday afternoon – big deal since I am an avid gardener, and in a separate incident, the huge oil tank that used to be connected to our renovated house was stolen – no, we didn’t report either crime. Them stealing the oil tank did us a favor in removal costs). In reading all the great information and details in this blog, I’m curious on your opinions whether this is normal for the season or whether anyone thinks these crimes are committed by teenagers. Is there is a correlation between “school is out” and the increase in crime (stealing candy? $5 in change? – sounds juvenile, but I’m no expert on crime). Being new to Richmond and to Virginia, I just don’t know if this is normal and it’ll taper off in the fall. I am happy about the tight community here, and I am thankful that we can all look out for each other. CHPN is a great tool! Because of all your posts, we installed our new alarm system two weeks ago. Thanks, neighbors!
Nick,
I’ve been in Church Hill for 5 or so years now and in Richmond for 9. I believe it’s both the warm temperatures and the fact that school is out. Some of these break-ins could be teenagers having fun or it could be a crack-head who now has more mouths to feed b/c the children would normally eat for free at school. Just my thought…anyone else have any ideas?
Hi All:
Wow!
I just got back from vacation last night and am now checking my emails. This has been a real humdinger summer for break-ins. I’ve lived hear going on fourteen years now, and can honestly say, it’s the worst I’ve seen it. Ditto for muggings and personal assaults.
I know the cops tell us that the crime is down 25% up here, but I think the crime is getting more agressive and more violent even if it is diminished.
I think one of the problems is a lot of new homeowners have moved into the neighborhood who are not used to living in a high crime area, and therefore, not taking the necessary precautions. Othe times, I think it’s longtime residents who have gotten complacent, and have let their guard down.
I’m not blaming any of you for your victimization – I have been a victim of crime up here on the Hill more than I want to remember. I’ve only had one house break-in and the rest have been car theft/vandalization, tool-shed theft, tools theft, even our air conditioning compressor ripped from off the side of our house and hauled away!
That said, except for the AC compressor and the vandalization, all those crimes could have been prevented it we had taken better precautions.
Please, please, if you don’t have a house alarm already, GET ONE! AND MAKE SURE IT’S CONNECTED TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT! This is the only way to keep people from breaking into your home – it’s well worth the expense. Secondly, USE IT ALWAYS! Even when you are inside your home hangin out. Remember that the Harvey’s were victimized because they had their front door open when they were home.
Get a housesitter when your away, even if it’s overnight – pay someone!
Don’t leave anything laying around that isn’t locked or secured in a locked place outside your home.
Buy The Club and use it always on all of your vehicles. Even if you have an alarm system.
Dog are great pets, but they are not crime deterents – Fido aint going to save the day.
Get good lighting systems and use them always.
There are a million other things that I could suggest, but the bottom line is that we live in a very dangerous community. When you’ve lived here a while it becomes second nature to look over your back constantly and never take for granted that it will be safe.
I’m sorry if this sounds so horrible to many of you, but that’s the reality.
I wouldn’t own a gun myself, but you do have the right to bear arms and use them to protect yourself.
We have a baseball bat and we’re not afraid to use it.
Maybe victims need to take a more assertive stance in dealing with perps? Would they think twice if you left them with a souvenir?
You decide…
Laura, your comments about living in a very dangerous community can be extended to the fact that right now we live in a very dangerous world…Again, I strongly suggest Gavin DeBecker’s book The Gift of Fear.
This is probably a leftist way of seeing things, but if you look at this in a linear, graph-like way (sorry, sometimes you have to), it seems that all of this crime is at the end of a long, curving line. Maybe we need to focus our attention a little further back along this line, before the criminals become criminals. Is there anything we can do in our community to stop such crimes from happening, besides installing alarms, buying baseball bats and bright lights? (Those are necessary, I know. We’re at the end of the line.) However, can we also volunteer our time in some way, or elect the right/decent/smart officials? Or something? I don’t really have any answers, but it seems that if we just batten down the hatches and wait for all the poor people to move away, the crackheads to overdose, the projects to be torn down, we’re not really being true, good, thinking humans. Let’s install the alarms and help our neighborhood. Doing just one isn’t enough.
From what I’ve learned on CHPN, some our neighbors aren’t being passive and just waiting for crackheads to overdose and people to move away. I’ve read Ann’s posts relating to the ABC Board approving yet another ABC license in an area where alcohol-related crimes is a known problem, despite Ann’s hard fight against it. It seems to me that, in that case, our board is more concerned with making money than to worry about perpetuating crime and bad cycles in our hood. Extremely disappointing, to say the least.
Our activist neighbors are trying to bring to the attention to government some common sense – what I call “no brainer” – improvements to our hood, and I continue to hope someone takes notice (as I’ve mentioned, I just moved to Richmond. The City Council here has been a big disappointment so far, and I’m talking personally. When Richmonders say they’re a “big joke,” well…I can see why). A neighborhood crime watch pamphlet was stuck on our front door a few weeks ago. It’s yet another example of people dedicating their time and money to the “greater good.”
On a separate note, I personally don’t want my neighbors to move away. My two best neighbors have been here for more than 25 years. Not only are they great people, but they love to sit on their front porches from afternoon to late at night with people stopping constantly to visit. I am convinced that they deter crime just by their presence. They know (literally) everyone in our part of Chimbo, so I doubt anyone would mess with those women! 🙂 And we watch each other’s houses when we’re out of town.
Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to have people like Bob, Ann, John, Heather, etc. (I’m thinking of all the posts I read) run for City Council. THAT would rock!
i know, nick. there are lots of folks doing good things out there. i guess i’m kind of preaching to the choir here. i’ve written so many posts that i’ve just deleted without posting, so perhaps it was silly of me to post this one, out of all the others. i just worry that we’re not doing enough for the people who really need our help. that’s it. i’ll shut up now!
While I don’t believe that people are being passive in Church Hill, I think “typical liberal” has a point about addressing root causes. There are obviously many dedicated community activists on this blog and in the neighborhood that are focused on community development, preventing crime etc. I think an issue that is vital is addressing the needs of the community farther back on the crime curve as t.liberal commented. What I mean to say is that it is just as important to volunteer in our schools- to mentor and tutor youth as it is to put our alarms on. As a community it is important that we work to develop and support the growth and development of all our neighbors.
I saw a statistic from the Richmond 2000 Census Data that in the last 10 years there has been approximately a 70% increase in adults with some level of higher education that have moved into our district. (still only 7% compared to Far West End’s 42%) What a great resource of tutors, mentors, youth group leaders..wouldn’t it be great if there were more afterschool and summer programs in order to help the children and youth have more positive role models in their lives and in turn maybe that will have an impact on crime, school truancy and dropout rates???
T. Liberal and Nick,
Thank you for bringing up the subject of volunteering. I volunteer quite a lot, not because I don’t have anything better to do. I work a full time job and several “as needed” jobs. I volunteer for the Shockoe Bottom Neighborhood Association, the Robyn-Starr SPCA, ChildSave and Activate Richmond. I volunteer because I care and I want to make a difference. I don’t have much money but I know the time that I spend volunteering means so much to so many. These are all great organizations and in need of volunteers. Please feel free to email me if you would like links to these organizations.
As one of the coordinators for Activate I can tell you that we would love for CHPN folks to sign up… Basically we set up 4-6 projects a month throughout the city and members can just sign up and volunteer. If there was enough CHill folks that were interested we could organize some specific projects for the neighborhood. You can find out more at http://www.activaterichmond.org or email me at vanessa@activaterichmond.org. The schools here also have great lunchtime and afterschool mentoring and tutoring programs and they are always in need of dedicated volunteers and mentors.
I’d also like to mention that I started a Neighborhood Watch Block Captain Program a few years back to help our neighborhood be more self-informed and pro-active in dealing with crime. The program received the
University of Richmond 2005 In Your Backyard Award for Community Activism along with a grant.
As with Heather, I also have a life (though I have had some individuals on other posts on this site accuse me of not having one), I run my own business and am involved in a number of community activists activities as well as tring to have a vibrant social life.
Most of the time I’m up till 2:00 AM doing the neighborhood stuff because that’s when I have the time to do it. I also don’t have tons of money, but have spent several hundreds of my own money investing in the Block Captain program and other intitiatives.
I’m currently heading a task force to designate a portion of North Church Hill as a Historic District where again, I have spent countless hours and dollars in this effort. Unfortunately, there are some individuals – Anne and her email is anne969@aol.com – who has called me a neo-nazi and many other awful names for forming this group and seeing it through. Her rant can be seen on the Historic District Initiative Meeting thread (June ’06).
I’m talking about this on this thread because the historic district thread was shut down because of her accusations.
My point is, there are a lot of really bitter, angry people living up here right now. I don’t see how it serves all of us to treat people who care about the community in this way.
I think people get so traumatized by the bad things that happen to themselves and their friends that they take it out on the wrong people – are we going to start acting like the perps or are we going to take the high road?
People who will, do. People who won’t, complain, accuse and name-call.
I encourage people to contact me if they are interested in becoming Block Captains for their block. I also encourage people to contact me to learn more about the Church Hill North Historic District initiative. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved and help out in our neighborhood – I’d be happy to help anyone do that.
Also there is a phone tree that was set-up by Shelby Long – It’s called Church Hill Crime Watch. She has had this program in place for about 30 years now and she was also featured in Newsweek magazine for outstanding community volunteers. She, in coordination with the 1st precinct, documents and logs all crimes in the Church Hill area. When cleared for the public, Shelby will phone you via a computer generated message to inform and make you aware of recent crimes in the area. If you would like to get on her phone tree, call her at 648-2710 or email her at shelbyshorttlong@aol.com
Heather, Vanessa, Laura – thanks for all the insight. I just signed up at ActivateRichmond. Though I sign my posts “Nick,” I am Nichole.
Thanks, too, for the info on the block captains, Laura. I need to check that paper someone left on our door to find out if we already have a captain on the lower end of Chimborazo.