Over the last few weeks a number of businesses and residents have made public their concerns regarding the before- and after-school behavior of Sterrett students — including vandalism to private property and threats to public safety. The SPBO is working with the school administration, city council, and public safety officials to coordinate a meeting where we will discuss the issues, the causes, and the potential solutions.

We will provide more information as it becomes available. In the mean time, if you have personal (i.e. first-hand) information regarding incidents involving the students, the school, etc., please send us email at info@southpointbreeze.org so we may include it on the list of concerns we will present.

Halloween Safety Tips
Halloween is on Wednesday October 31, 2007.
Trick -or-treat hours for the City of Pittsburgh is from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM.

Please use the following safety tips when trick- or- treating-

• Trick-or-treat in your neighborhood.
• Go with friends.
• Ask your parents, older sister or brother or a trusted neighbor to go along.
• Carry a flashlight, glow stick, or reflective bag.
• Have parents check all treats before you eat them.

Have fun but be safe…

CITYWIDE CITIZENS PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING
HOSTED BY ZONE 4 & 5
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2007 at 6pm
KINGSLEY COMMUNITY CENTER
6435 FRANKSTOWN AVE.
(AT THE CORNER OF FRANKSTOWN AVE. & EAST LIBERTY BLVD.)
Officer Matthew White
Zone Four
Crime Prevention/Crime Analysis
5858 Northumberland St.
Pittsburgh PA 15217
412-422-6559

The residents of LeRoi and S. Homewood have noticed some recent suspicious (drug) activity.

From Janice Gordon (sent on 8/22):

Briefly, over the past few weeks, an unlocked car parked in the alley (belonging to our neighbors) was opened and a roll of quarters was stolen. When the police came to investigate, they examined some pills that had been dropped by the car and said that the pills were crack cocaine worth about $300-$500. Since this occurred, a white car has been spotted in the alley on three occasions. Inside the car have been two African-American men smoking what appears to be marijuana.

The car was seen again tonight at 6:45PM. The rest of the info is below in the email that I sent out to our neighbors on South Homewood. It includes the license plate of the car.

Please alert anyone you know who lives on the alley about this. Thanks so much. We don’t want anyone taken by surprise by these people.

—- original message
When Rob came home tonight at 6:45 PM, he backed into our garage and smelled marijuana. He looked up and saw the same white car that has been sighted previously in the alley, in the same spot (second garage in from the end of the alley on the LeRoi Court side). He was able to see half of the license plate which was the same as had been reported by the Roths.

Rob left the alley and saw this car leave as well. It went down Homewood toward Penn Ave. Rob immediately called the police. An officer came very quickly this time. When I mentioned that the Roths had found a cigar in the alley after they saw the car leave, the officer said that people put marijuana into cigars. He said that he would report this series of incidents to the plainclothes unit who might be able to surprise the people who are in the car.

It may be useful for all of us to have the license number. It is either GHM 0400 or possibly DHM 0400 (not sure about the first letter).

If you have any information, please contact the police. If you witness this or similar activity, do not approach the men or the car. Call 911 immediately.

For reference, our Crime Prevention/Crime Analysis Officer (Zone 4) is:

Officer Matt White
5858 Northumberland St.
Pittsburgh PA 15217
412-422-6559

Stay alert to your surroundings at all times.

Never walk alone after dark, even in areas with which you are familiar.

Don’t carry cash or credit cards with you if at all possible.

If confronted by an armed assailant, don’t resist, do whatever they tells you. Money or property can be replaced, you can’t be!

Report all crime, no matter how small. You must call 911, there is no other number! From the law enforcement perspective, if it wasn’t reported, it didn’t happen.

At night, lighting is very important. Leave your porch light on all night. During the day, and night for that matter, secure your valuables. Don’t leave things out that you want to keep. Porch furniture is difficult to secure, but be creative.

Finally, watch out for each other and watch for suspicious behavior. People looking into cars and trying car doors, or walking between houses or going door to door with some sad story!

From the city police…

11-07-06 7PM 6709 Reynolds St. 20 y/o Victim was approached by 4 unknown black male teens armed with a handgun. Victim was punched in the face and knocked to the ground. Actors demanded everything he had, and victim emptied his pockets. Actors fled with the victims IPOD and Cell Phone. We have no suspects at this time. Incident was referred to the robbery squad. I haven’t seen any recent similar incidents.

Ashley D. Thompson, CPS
Police Officer
City Of Pittsburgh

From the Pittsburgh Police Department, here are the July and August 2006 crime statistics for the South Point Breeze Area.

July/August Crime Stats (word document)