Notes from Recent Public Safety Meeting
Monday, March 10th, 2008PURPOSE
The South Point Breeze Organization (SPBO) and Councilman Bill Peduto sponsored a Crime Prevention Meeting on Tuesday, March 4th in the St. Bede Cafeteria. Approximately 140 residents attended this standing room only session. Discussion focused on two recent crime incidents which took place on Hastings and Selwyn Streets. While the news media had reported numerous incidents, they were not in the immediate vicinity. The local incidents were isolated and don’t appear to be related, however, residents should always be kept informed.
Police Commander Cathy Degler and Community Policing Officer William Mathew White (as well as some plain clothes detectives) were in attendance to share information.
Helpful Hint: If you’ve witnessed a crime close up, for identification purposes, instead of just paying attention to their clothing, which can easily be shed or turned inside out within minutes of a crime, look at the shoes. Criminals rarely change their shoes.
CITIZEN OBSERVER
The City has funded the “Citizen Observer,” a free web based public safety software program that provides crime information to citizens regarding their specific community and throughout the entire city. Residents must sign up online to get access:
http://www.citizenobserver.com
SOUTH POINT BREEZE ORGANIZATION
The South Point Breeze Organization (SPBO) is a non profit volunteer community organization which can represent the community in a variety of ways, including planning, safety, environmental and social matters. The SPBO will host a follow-up Crime Prevention meeting to provide assistance and experience in organizing official block watches–street by street.
The Police Department can provide funding assistance in printing official Block Watch Signs–Criminals Beware. These signs alert criminals that the people that live on that street are organized, sharing information, and keeping a watchful eye.
To get on the SPBO e-mail to receive notices of future meetings, and general information of interest, log onto email info@southpointbreeze.org.
ZONE 4 GENERAL INFORMATION
The City is currently comprised of 6 Police Zones. The Zone which service Point Breeze is ZONE 4 (formerly #6). It is the largest geographic zone in the city, and comprises not only Point Breeze and North Point Breeze, but also Squirrel Hill, Swisshelm Park, Shadyside, North, Central and South Oakland to Uptown, Greenfield, Hazelwood, Hays, Glenwood, New Homestead/Gates Manor and Lincoln Place. It is staffed according to crime statistics. There is an overlap of officers during shift changes.
EMERGENCY AND NON-EMGERNCY CONTACTS
CALL 911 for EMERGENCIES and suspicious activity.
CALL 311 number for non-emergency issues (i.e. garbage wasn’t picked up, neighbors dog is barking all night, street needs salted, potholes, etc.)
Follow-up information relating to a crime can be reported to the Police Zone by calling 412-422-6520.