About 100 West Philadelphia residents packed the basement of the Calvary Center tonight to talk to police and University City District (UCD) officials about how to curb crime in the neighborhoods west of 40th Street.
The regular monthly meeting, which usually attracts less than a dozen people, was standing-room-only tonight as residents questioned police about topics ranging from the effectiveness of plain-clothes officers to the funding of a campaign for more porch lights. Police and UCD officials called on residents to help keep neighborhoods safe by requesting more walking escorts and calling police when they see suspicious activity.
Neighborhood organization was a consistent theme of the meeting.
“We have to organize as a community,” said resident Karen Allen. “Otherwise we will be picked off one by one.”
The increased attendance at the monthly meeting with police was in response to the rape and robbery on Tuesday night near 48th Street and Springfield Avenue.
Many residents who attended the meeting wanted to talk about specific issues. Several were concerned about the area near 48th and Baltimore. A woman who lives at 800 S. St. Bernard St., a small side street near 49th and Baltimore, said she has seen an increase in criminal activity on her street, including three robberies earlier this week.
“It feels like a battle zone with kids running up and down our street with guns,” she said.
Lt. Brian McBride, who heads the Philadelphia Police Department’s University City unit, said that officers have been active in the neighborhood and made arrests in those cases.
“It’s been a battle over there,” he said. You’re right. We’re working very hard on it.”
McBride said that the department has employed a strategy that includes several plain clothes police officers in areas beyond 40th Street.
But several residents were concerned that there were no longer enough uniformed UCD bike patrols further out in the neighborhood.
“The change I see is that at night they are concentrated around 40th and Walnut,” said one person at the meeting. “It’s like if you sneeze in that neighborhood then, boom, you’re done.”
Matt Bergheiser, UCD’s executive director, said more patrols have been stationed near 40th and Walnut to help combat the rash of flash mobs last month. That area, intelligence showed, was a possible target, he said.
Bergheiser said that UCD has performed target policing before, including a crackdown near the 46th and Market El stop, which had seen an increase in crime earlier this year. Police targeted a wall near a residential area bordering the El stop and deployed more plain clothes officers. They have taken a similar approach to the increased crime below Baltimore Avenue.
“I know it’s not as visible,” Bergheiser said. “But it’s out there.”
That deployment is part of an ongoing strategy to address crime, he said “We look at every single crime every single week to try to stay ahead of the trends,” said Bergheiser.
One resident was concerned that the area south of Baltimore Avenue near 48th Street was targeted because it was on the border of police districts – that there was an “escape route” where police from different districts would not overlap. McBride said police nearby, regardless of the district, would respond to an emergency.
“In an emergency, all bets are off,” he said. “Any police can go anywhere.”
McBride advised residents at the meeting to report suspicious activity. Some people at the meeting said that in a diverse neighborhood suspicious activity was often hard to pinpoint. One person raised a specific example: He was on a trolley when he overheard a group of teens talking about the best way to rob someone at night. McBride advised him to call it in.
“On the off chance that it was a threat,” he said, “I would step off the trolley and call 911 and someone would be dispatched.”
What became clear in the meeting, though, is that people in the neighborhoods have been reluctant to report “suspicious activity.” There are likely several reasons for that. Many people are new to the neighborhood and so are still getting accustomed to what is “normal.” Also, “suspicious” is to judge.
But McBride, Bergheiser and the other speakers offered some concrete advice:
• Keep your porch light on if you have one. It costs about $3 a year to keep a 100-watt bulb on from dusk until dawn.
• Trim big bushes back. It sounds trivial, but police have noticed that in West Philly would-be robbers hide in overgrown bushes.
• Walk confidently. Beware that ear buds and headphones make you vulnerable, as does carrying lots of stuff.
• Look for light. As we know, light is our friend.
• Don’t be afraid to call the UCD ambassadors. Yes, those folks on bikes with the yellow shirts will walk you places at night. One of the folks at the meeting said that there are 12,000 calls for them near the Penn campus and “not so many” past 40th Street. They patrol out to 50th Street and usually arrive within 5 minutes. They will introduce themselves and be friendly. Call them. The number is 215-387-3942.
September 15th, 2011 at 11:21 pm
Wasn’t able to attend — thanks for this!
September 15th, 2011 at 11:32 pm
wish I could have made it…
another tip: join, or start, a chapter of town watch. you don’t have to confront anyone, just keep your eyes open and call the cops when you see sketchy situations. They will respond quicker if you tell them you’re part of town watch/
September 15th, 2011 at 11:54 pm
We trashed a comment on this thread that I thought was unhelpful and didn’t add anything to the discussion. We will continue to do that on stories like this. Hate and comments that call on the citizenry to be armed and hunt people down won’t fly here.
September 16th, 2011 at 6:56 am
Another reason for reluctance to call police in cases of suspicious activity is that the police can be aggressive and dangerous. Thus if you’re worried about a group of teenagers, but aren’t certain that they’re up to anything, and you call the police, you may create a terrible, even dangerous, situation for those young people. I witnessed something pretty awful recently with the West Phil police responding to a complaint about someone using a cell phone. There was also the recent situation of the West Phil police brutally beating a blind man. If you talk to West Phil teens, they will tell you they fear the police more than gangs, because the police are so quick to irrational violence. Both sides need to clean up, I think, and that’s the job of the neighborhood: to watch and report and demand that all behave with civility.
September 16th, 2011 at 7:17 am
I don’t want to criticize anyone’s reactions, because hindsight is 20/20, but the way this part of the article is written doesn’t make sense to me:
“Some people at the meeting said that in a diverse neighborhood suspicious activity was often hard to pinpoint. One person raised a specific example: He was on a trolley when he overheard a group of teens talking about the best way to rob someone at night. McBride advised him to call it in.”
How was that an example of suspicious activity being hard to pinpoint “in a diverse neighborhood”? First, that doesn’t seem at all hard to pinpoint as suspicious, but again, hindsight is 20/20. More confusing to me is how being in a diverse neighborhood would make that harder to pinpoint as suspicious. It sounds suspicious to me, in any neighborhood. Does anyone understand this?
September 16th, 2011 at 8:26 am
The saddest part of this is that we almost bought a house in UCity and we are glad we didn’t. The neighborhood has so many positive elements, including proximity to CC, plethora of public transit, schools, colleges, restaurants, shops, architecture, and museums, but it is not worth it if you have to watch your back getting out of your car in front of your $400k home.
September 16th, 2011 at 8:34 am
I called the police (911) on a domestic situation in front of my house– man getting violent with girlfriend — and the police told them that their neighbor had made the call. Meaning the abusive guy knew I had called. THAT sort of behavior does not encourage neighbors to call when things are happening around them. Not sure who to make this complaint to. But it should be made.
September 16th, 2011 at 9:22 am
I just wanted to second the suggestion to utilize the UCD ambassadors, aka “guys in yellow shirts”. They are always friendly and happy to help. Also, they report every single trip they make; I would have to imagine that if there is concrete data that their resources are being used more frequently beyond 43 rd street, maybe in the future they will extend their roaming area. Again, they are always around and more than willing to help.
September 16th, 2011 at 9:34 am
I don’t see why being an armed citizen is a bad idea– rather, I found it to be an inspiring suggestion. The cops are largely useless in the moments of assault, and even if the later locate and arrest the perpetrator it most likely just means another young brother entering the career cycle of jail, felon stigma, more crime, repeat. I would rather cut that cycle short and let a despairing youth know the seemingly low hanging fruit of our neighborhood has teeth of it’s own, rather than us being a bunch of rich pussies who need to buy protection. Message to these errant youth: man up, get in line, and join our free society!
September 16th, 2011 at 9:42 am
Hey Jo, we’re glad you didn’t too! Because negativity is not helpful in a neighbor. Good luck with your search for a neighborhood entirely free of crime.
September 16th, 2011 at 10:08 am
I’ve had some concerns similar to those expressed by West Phil Neighbor. I live near Malcolm X Park, where young people are often openly smoking weed. I am not opposed to this activity,just not in the middle of a park with young children and right next to the playground.So I don’t want to call 911 on them because I’m not trying to get them busted, I just want them to go somewhere else… so I’ve tried calling the local precinct to ask for a beat cop to just walk through the park, but haven’t gotten a good response. Any ideas?
September 16th, 2011 at 10:22 am
@Mike Lyons
I understand deleting blatantly hateful and uninspired comments by why would you censor comments pertaining to exercising a citizens right to carry a concealed weapon? The people who’s comments get deleted are also a voice in the community even if you dont agree with the tactic.
It cant be expected that the police protect you in the midst of a robbery or assault. If someone is putting your well being in danger you have the right to defend yourself.
September 16th, 2011 at 10:39 am
@Lo I think I know the post you’re talking about. It wasn’t so much the content that troubled me (As a moderator. As a citizen it did a little.) it was the 4th grade-inspired, unnecessary username that the poster used. If you want to be taken seriously take the forum seriously.
September 16th, 2011 at 10:56 am
Because the viewpoint is dangerously uninformed. Yes, you have a right to defend yourself, but it requires a degree of wisdom that those who recommend such things seem to lack to realize that, just because you have a right to do something, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to do it.
I’m interested to know if those people advocating that we all walk around armed have discussed this option with law enforcement, and if law enforcement professionals have advocated that citizens engage in gun battles with criminals. If so, then perhaps it isn’t such a bad idea, but judging from this article, it doesn’t seem that the police stood up in front of the community and advocated this course of action. And I highly doubt they ever would.
Bravado on the internet is about as ridiculous as it gets when trying to determine the proper way to deal with criminals, and such childish antics have no place in such a serious discussion. In my opinion, at least.
September 16th, 2011 at 11:52 am
I simply don’t think the paternal forces of law are the solution. They are there to perpetuate the status quo and ultimately they are the personal henchmen of Goldman-Sachs execs and their ilk. We do have a diverse community. And it should be inclusive. Young black men from the wrong side of Kingsessing should feel they have an equal right to walk through our beautiful neighborhood and realistically aspire to own a lovely Victorian. But they don’t. They expect failure, branding, jail. We need a solution that doesn’t involve cops or robbers and tattletales who can afford to build moats around their castles. Time to grow up, all of us. Either misguided youth is confronted with vigilance and mass hugs or with a community well trained in self-defense. And then they need guidance and inclusion. Am I the only west Philadelphian left who believes in responsibility and anarchy?
September 16th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
The Police in this city are ridiculous ,especially in west philly. i had my house broken into and an item stolen,when i go to the station to make a report they laughed at me and told me to go to this other precinct…i go there this cop at the desk is staring at me and says “what are you lookin at?” “what (edited) do YOU want”? i told him my scenerio and was polite and he laughed at me and suggested i was un drugs because i didnt notice someone in my house ,then suggested i was making it up, and then rudely told me to go to this other precinct( the north side of my street is a certain district,the south is another, noone seemed to know where to point or wanted to handle the situation probably because they didnt want to do any paper work) i was then told to go home and call 911. i went upstairs and told the detectives and they shook their heads like they know these cops are bullshit and do this shit all the time. So yeah, what are you supposed to do when the people you go to for help cuss at you,suggest you are guilty of the crime you are reporting and make you feel helpless and extremely frustrated.
September 16th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
” There was also the recent situation of the West Phil police brutally beating a blind man. If you talk to West Phil teens, they will tell you they fear the police more than gangs, because the police are so quick to irrational violence. Both sides need to clean up”
this is true.
the police are quick to punch you in the face and put a gun to your head. doesnt matter if your a perp or not. i had a police pick my girl up by her hair and throw her against a wall because she had an alcoholic beverage in her coat as she was leaving a party. what would you do if a man did that to your lady?
September 17th, 2011 at 9:12 am
I’m just now reading this story and want to make a few corrections. I am quoted as “a woman who lives at 800 S. St. Bernard St.” in this story. First of all, I don’t live at 800 itself, but rather on the 800 block. Secondly, I didn’t say there had been “three robberies earlier this week” on my block. What I did say was that there had been an attempted robbery on the front porch of a house on my block on the same night that the rape occurred in our neighborhood. I voiced my concern that perhaps the two events were linked. Also, I don’t remember calling my block a “battle zone,” though perhaps the lieutenant used that term immediately following my comments. I want to be careful that my block is not mischaracterized by this story– these events are not unique to my block but rather indicative of what is happening in the broader neighborhood. Thanks for sharing your report so that those who couldn’t attend the meeting were able to access the information.
September 17th, 2011 at 9:54 am
@res of S. Saint Bernard Sorry for the misinterpretation. We didn’t mean to pick on your block, but you’re concern about “young kids with guns” on your block was startling. You’re right – it is happening all over. Lt. McBride mentioned that there were three robberies around that block – on the 11th, 12th and 13th. We attributed that comment to you, which was wrong.
Also, a detective is looking for folks who might know something about the robbery attempt that you mentioned. His request is on our Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Philly-Local/163642187009398
September 17th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
I live near 49th and warrington. I have a
Couple of ideas. I think we should be proactive
With this situation. We know the problem is
Based on youth that are either misguided
or have no guidance. We should give them
Positive things to do. My friends and I are
Trying to get the tennis courts at kinsessing
Park turned into a skatepark. I don’t know what
The story is with the large building in the middle
Of the park, but I think it would be great to set up
A spot where kids can learn how to play music.
We could have a bunch of donated instruments
And a bunch of volentier’s staffing and teaching.
A game room would be good too. Donated gaming
Systems that kids can play for free. We should also
Lightly arm ourselves, especially women.
September 18th, 2011 at 11:10 am
@liberty: “I don’t see why being an armed citizen is a bad idea– rather, I found it to be an inspiring suggestion. ”
Unless you have the kind of training the military and police get, which include tactical skills and keeping calm under pressure, this is a recipe for other citizens to get caught in the crossfire.
it is bad enough out there without making our city even MORE like the wild west or Afghanistan.
September 20th, 2011 at 11:57 am
http://phillysurvivorsupportcollective.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/55/
In response to the recent sexual assault on 48th and Springfield, the Philly Survivor Support Collective would like to put ourselves out there as a resource to survivors of sexual assault, including the survivor of this incident, and to anyone who is supporting a survivor. For those of us who are survivors, news of this incident may bring up upsetting memories or feelings about our own experiences. Please feel free to contact us if you are looking for support.
Sexual assault affects not only the survivor but also the surrounding community. We believe that the survivor should be the one who makes the decisions about what makes them feel safe and what helps them in healing, and the people around them should support these decisions.
There are a lot of things that a survivor may find helps them feel safe and supported immediately after a sexual assault and during the healing process. Things like talking, not talking, writing, crying, having people around that they can ask for help or being alone but knowing who they can call when they need help, keeping distracted, telling their story over and over or not telling their story to anyone at all, screaming, having someone cook for them, having someone hold them or having no physical contact with anyone, setting their own boundaries, working with others to hold the perpetrator accountable, working with neighbors to make a safer home or block or neighborhood, drinking beer and talking shit, playing music or listening to music or breaking bottles or sleeping for a very long time, or anything the survivor can think of that might help. Or there may be nothing that feels like it helps.
Philly Survivor Support Collective is a group in West Philly that offers support to survivors of sexual assault in directing their own healing, creates alternatives to the legal system for survivors seeking justice and safety, and works to transform our communities to end sexual violence. You can contact us at SurvivorSupport@riseup.net, or call (215) 618-2020 and leave us a voicemail.
September 20th, 2011 at 8:35 pm
On his twitter feed (www.twitter.com/thefuzz9143), Det. Murray noted that the name of the individual arrested for the robbery and rape was Kaseem Drayton and that he confessed to that crime as well as other robberies. It would be helpful to get a picture of Drayton released so that folks who also may have been robbery victims of his may come forward. For those of us who went to the Community meeting, this would be good opportunity to contact Lt. McBride, the UCD and Penn to request that the Department release the photo.
September 21st, 2011 at 9:56 am
@Neighborino Thanks for that. Good idea. That name is close but is actually an alias. We will have something up shortly about this.
December 6th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
“It would be helpful to get a picture of Drayton released so that folks who also may have been robbery victims of his may come forward. For those of us who went to the Community meeting, this would be good opportunity to contact Lt. McBride, the UCD and Penn to request that the Department release the photo.”
Has this happened?
December 6th, 2011 at 8:06 pm
Wow, this person/group sounds like they completely get it. How beautiful. 🙁 This is perfect.
“Things like talking, not talking, writing, crying, having people around that they can ask for help or being alone but knowing who they can call when they need help, keeping distracted, telling their story over and over or not telling their story to anyone at all, screaming, having someone cook for them, having someone hold them or having no physical contact with anyone, setting their own boundaries, working with others to hold the perpetrator accountable, working with neighbors to make a safer home or block or neighborhood, drinking beer and talking shit, playing music or listening to music or breaking bottles or sleeping for a very long time, or anything the survivor can think of that might help. Or there may be nothing that feels like it helps.”