Weinland Park Community Civic Association
Safety Committee
Notes from meeting of February 16, 2012Steve Sterrett called the
monthly meeting of the Safety Committee to order at 5:39 p.m. in
the citys Northside Neighborhood Pride Center.
Joyce Hughes, president of the civic association, introduced
John Risteter, who she has appointed as the new chair of the
committee. Mr. Risteter lives at East Ninth Avenue and Indianola
Avenue, works for Huntington Bank and is a member of the University
Area Commission. His e-mail address is [email protected].
Betina Ebady began a discussion of neighborhood-based efforts to
prevent fires in vacant houses, but she also suggested that a Block
Watch or block clubs could help deal with broader public safety
issues. R. Anthonio Barno suggested that the committee begin by
recruiting neighbors to monitor vacant properties on the streets
where they live. A neighbor would take responsibility to keep an
eye on vacant properties nearby, to inform code enforcement
regarding unsecured properties, and to report suspicious activities
around the properties to police. The neighbor would not patrol
properties or confront suspicious people. Mr. Barno said that if
this effort was successful, it could lead to more relationships
among neighbors and the possibility of forming block clubs.
After further discussion, the committee agreed to report on this
initiative to monitor vacant houses at the Weinland Park Community
Civic Associations meeting on February 22 and to recruit additional
neighborhood volunteers. Several committee members volunteered to
monitor streets. Mr. Sterrett will bring a map to the civic
association meeting so volunteers can mark the streets that they
will cover.
The committee turned to a discussion of public trends based on
crime reports for Weinland Park compiled for 2009, 2010 and
2011.
Mr. Sterrett and Mr. Barno reported on the proposed targeted
juvenile outreach initiative that is being developed by the
Weinland Park Collaboratives Public Safety Task Force. The
initiative would create a team approach to dealing with juvenile
offenders in Weinland Park. The team would include staff from
Directions for Youth & Families, special-duty police officers,
juvenile court, and the juvenile court probation office. The
coordinated approach could be more effective in turning juvenile
offenders away from crime and assisting their families. Mr.
Risteter suggested that Mr. Sterrett report on the initiative at
the next civic association meeting.
Isom Nivins reported that The Interrupters, a powerful
documentary on stopping gang violence, had been shown earlier in
the week on WOSUs Channel 34.
The business of the committee being concluded, Mr. Risteter
adjourned the meeting at 6:47 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled
for Thursday, March 15, at 5:30 p.m. at the citys Northside
Neighborhood Pride Center, 248 E. 11th Avenue.
