The following commentary is in response to a fatal shooting early Saturday morning near 49th and Springfield. The author, Renee Tapp, is concerned about the horrific crime and what she perceives as apathy among residents.
On Friday night I awoke to guns shots and by the time I looked out of my bedroom window, a crime scene had been established by the police. After reaching out to the community through West Philly Local about the constant violence occurring on the Springfield corridor, I was shocked by the lack of interest or response from the readership of this blog.
It is my concern that this neighborhood is only interested in crime that happens to members of the community. At this time, I understand there is only a limited amount of information to share, however I worry that the readership has been able to dismiss this crime because the victim wasn’t from our neighborhood. For me, it does not matter where the victim is from, but rather someone perceived our neighborhood as an acceptable place to commit murder.
A human being was killed outside my house on Friday. Either direction on Springfield Ave resonates with the aftermath of a tragedy. As November begins, I am forced to ask, how much has changed since the rape and robbery near Springfield in September? I do not feel more safe now than I did then.
I would hope that the problem solving that has been so prominent on the blog in the last few days addressing non-crime issues, such as dogs off leash, can extend to addressing the on-going crime in our community. Or perhaps, we should continue to ignore these persistent problems until it is one of us, and then feign shock at how this could possibly be.
November 8th, 2011 at 11:18 am
I’m not apathetic. I come merely view and provide any insight or info I come across. This is unfortunate but, I cannot stress enough that it’s probably a dearth of information rather than indifference.
November 8th, 2011 at 11:32 am
I could have sworn there was a neighborhood watch group that was forming for South of Baltimore area but searching around haven’t been able to find the info. If someone could post that it would be more useful than the above which I’m assuming was written before the information on the victim was released. Even the most active neighborhood watch couldn’t prevent Maki Thomas from parking his car there and it looks like he was going to be killed where ever who did it found him. It’s not that most of your neighbors are apathetic – it’s that they’re not naive and drew the correction conclusion from the scant details that were released earlier. Sorry.
November 8th, 2011 at 11:45 am
Renee,
The 900 S block of St Bernard has organized a cleanup and community get together for this Saturday from 10am-noon. Anyone is welcome to participate. The block usually has great morale and we hope that this cleanup and gathering will allow us to continue to build connections and trust which make this a welcoming and healthy block. The cleanup will also be a great time for neighbors to discuss how we can work together to insure that the block and the broader community remain a safe place for everyone to live, work, play, etc. The issues that you bring up are clearly complex and perhaps difficult to discuss in the format offered by these comment boxes. I hope that the cleanup will give everyone the opportunity for some brainstorming around how we can work to make West Philly a safe place to live.
November 8th, 2011 at 11:50 am
Anonymous is correct, there was a town watch forming south of Baltimore. It was announced at the last police community meeting with Lt. McBride and Community Relations Officer Mike Davis. A community member who attended the meeting seemed to be in charge but I don’t live in that particular neighborhood so I didn’t get her info. Officer Davis is the guy who arranges training town watch groups, so I would suggest giving him a call at the 18th District to find out more.
November 8th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
I can only speak for myself. It’s not apathy regarding the situation, rather a lack of knowing what to do on a community scale. I moved into the neighborhood a year ago, and was welcomed to the neighborhood by someone being chased by police, and attempting to run into my house to avoid capture, and then a mere month later, I witnessed a take down of a suspect directly in front of my door with a stun gun (I scoured the Philly news, and NEITHER were even mentioned).
I’ve confined myself to my home after dusk, (which obviously doesn’t even matter to these animals, as a woman and her baby were attacked a few months back in broad daylight). I don’t even go beyond 48th and Baltimore, because I’ve had numerous people in the middle of the day hassle me. The business owners seem to be so afraid of crime and theft, the times I have stepped into their stores I was treated so terribly, I just refuse to return.
The attitude of the City toward West Philly was evident with their reaction to the flash mobs. They wasted NO time getting an increased police presence; HOWEVER, it stopped where the college students housing stops… just the very tip of West Philly, and where the real issues are.
As average citizens, I’m not sure what we can do without putting ourselves in danger. It is evident these predators have absolutely no regard for human life. Police presence must be increased in the area, lights and cameras should be installed throughout. I know that there have been several meetings about crime in the area, but nothing has been done. You can walk Center city at any time of the day or night, and you can’t turn around without seeing a Police officer. I have YET to see one walk down Baltimore past 48th, I’ve yet to see a Police car go down my street. Without their presence, I’m not sure what we can do safely. I’m not willing to be a martyr for a City that has made it very clear they don’t care about me.
Just some thoughts on Renee’s thoughtful and relevant post.
November 8th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
The person who organized the S. of Baltimore neighborhood watch thing is named Patty Bulack. She is a really nice person and would be happy to have anybody involved that was interested. Her e-mail is pbulack@gmail.com
November 8th, 2011 at 4:25 pm
It seems that personal safety is just that, extremely personal. I have lived in this area for nearly a decade and have never been a victim of a crime and am not a prisoner in my own home and local businesses owners are welcoming and friendly to me. I see police west of 48th and Baltimore all the time, patrolling and otherwise. I have not been “hassled” by anyone unless you count Daniel who sells water which you shouldn’t because then you really have no heart. I subscribe to daily updates from spotcrime.com and know as a result that the majority of the crime is property crime, consequently have an alarm at home and don’t keep anything in sight in my car, and also that the most assaults in the area are tragically domestics. I follow TheFuzz9143 on Twitter and know that muggings in the areas usually come in sprees and the perps are often subsequently caught so I am mindful and streetwise when walking at night. As TheFuzz9143 said on this very website, it has become harder to make fast money selling drugs farther west and so young men are turning to muggings and that’s partly the reason for the uptick. I’m subscribe to all the neighborhood listserves so when crime happens to a community member I know about it (also know that Patty Bulack is one of our biggest crime-fighters!). More could always be done and the forming of a town watch is a great start but not everyone is so fearful.
November 8th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
I’ve wondered if the neighborhood watch has a proper online component. I think it would be neat if there was a website where I or anybody could go to to report suspicious activity as it happens. I feel that the perceived apathy about the crimes in our neighborhood have to do with a lack of communication between people and though we have this fantastic blog, it’s not enough. I want a place where I can report things as they happen, even if they end up being insignificant (such as that I heard upwards of 20 bangs around my apart on 48th and Chester two nights ago that were PROBABLY just fireworks but could have been gunshots, that I saw a young man in a hoodie a few weeks back with a flashlight looking through people’s cars.. etc.) without worrying about wasting anybody’s (the police’s) time or wrongfully accusing anybody. This way more stuff gets reported and more people are kept in the loop and can perhaps act proactively. It would be cool if there was a smartphone app that could alert you every time somebody adds a suspicious activity update too.
Just floating an idea out there, curious what people make of it. I’m willing to put some time into making it happen if there is an interest in it. It’s the type of thing that only works if enough people want to contribute to it.
*Btw, westphillylocal and TheFuzz9143 twitter account are great places to get info about things after they’ve happened. What I’m proposing is a website/forum that works more in “real time”.
November 8th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
Anon: Use the phone: 911
It is OK to report suspicious activity, even if there is no clear crime.
Nothing is more immediate than a phone call.
You can blog about it later.
-Mike
November 9th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Mike, I’m mostly just making the argument for more lines of communication within the community. And we’re on a blog already.. why would I suggest a blog? I said forum. Also, some people in the community feel that the police are somewhat ineffective and may feel inclined not to call. That said, I agree that calling 911 is the most decisive action one can take when confronted with a crime or significantly suspicious activity but good luck getting everyone to report everything that they see. More lines of communication between residents is all I’m saying.
BTW, Does anyone know if the neighborhood watch has a website that they keep updated that I can follow?
November 9th, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Hello All,
I wanted to give some info and updates about our Town Watch group and neighborhood collective called “48th St. Neighbors”. We started in response to the robbery/rape on my block (900 block of 48th St)in early September. I have done work for years, notifying neighbors via letters through their mailslots when crime went up. Therefore, my first inclination after our neighbor was victimized was to leaflet 200 houses along 48th St. and adjoining blocks, to see who would like to organize. The response has been amazing.
Our first meeting held on 4700 block of Springfield gathered over 65 residents, and one of the things discussed was forming neighborhood “walking patrols”. In the last 2 months since that meeting, we have added 150 names to our e-mail list, organized a walking/patrolling sign-up list, had a Town Watch training, connected with Lt. McBride and other police officers, signed folks up for self-defense classes provided by Penn, trimmed bushes, and added lights. Whew! And we are really enjoying one another’s company. This neighborhood is AWESOME with some of the most passionate, intelligent, hard-working people on the planet!
We would love to include any of you who would like to join the e-mail list: that allows me to send you any updates about crime that get forwarded to me by our list (and 49th St. Neighbors google group, and other organized blocks who are on our list). We are still working on how best to keep a “live” updatable communication going about crime – for now, whenever I hear anything I forward it to the entire list. If you join our list, I will invite you to the google group which has all of our past e-mails as discussions.
There is much more work to do, including adding more members to our walking groups (which are Monday through Thursday, 7 to 9 pm, and 9 to 11 pm). We will be having another meeting on December 1st, at Renewal Presbyterian Church, to welcome new people to our group, and to plan our next Town Watch training to better prepare folks to walk through the neighborhood together. We are looking for new ways to continue building community, and would welcome your energy and ideas. This neighborhood and all of you are worth every effort towards that end, and we will have a blast doing while doing this work!
If you have any questions, please feel free to call me (215 906-0243) or e-mail me pbulack@gmail.com. Let me know if you want to be added to our e-mail list, or come to our meeting on December 1st. We will be leafletting the entire area about that meeting (47th to 49th, Baltimore to Kingssessing is our current sector). We are looking for all who want to work together to make this neighborhood stronger, and safer. If you are from outside of our area, please still contact me if you want to be involved, or if you want to talk about your block/neighborhood, and let’s brainstorm together….
Thanks All!
Patty
November 9th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
One more thing: as a result of our work, there have been two arrests, and one of them involved halting an assault!!
One of our evening patrols got a description of a suspect who had just committed a robbery from police on the scene, and an hour later recognized him and led the police to him!!
The second arrest happened from one of our members paying attention to the sound of breaking glass, realizing that someone who was mentally unstable had broken a bottle and was carrying it in a menacing fashion down the sidewalk. Our member followed him, and the man with the bottle tried to assault a young woman. Our member shouted out to stop him, and the man was startled and continued on. Our member followed him until the police arrived (due to his calls, and the calls of a UCD bike Ambassador that he found along the way).
This resulted from our discussions about being alert and what to do in a situation such as this. To my mind, to have as many of us prepared by discussion and training as possible is the best way to have us all on the streets as potential scene changers!
Please join us – even the smallest action towards positive change keeps you from being further victimized by those who are choosing to destroy our peace….
Yours,
Patty
November 9th, 2011 at 6:33 pm
I just want to thank Renee for starting this conversation, and posting such thoughtful comments. I too feel a great lack of apathy from among friends and acquaintances about violent crime in my neighborhood, and am often the one to tell friends and neighbors about crimes that have happened (because I read this blog!) I also want to stress, yet again, that some of the language being used to talk about crime and race in these posts is really inappropriate. We cannot dismiss human beings as “predators” and “animals.” These are exactly the type of labels that feed the circumstances that drive people to commit crimes in the first place. We need to think about everyone in the neighborhood as equal and individual members and all part of the greater solution. And I want also to echo what Resident near 51st said. No one is ever “asking” to be victimized in any way, but day to day interactions between people in our neighborhood are highly influenced by how you carry yourself – don’t carry yourself with fear, treat people with respect. I love this neighborhood and don’t live in fear. I’ve been helped out by my neighbors wherever I’ve lived in this area, and try to do the same for others – regardless of who they are. We can do better – in our efforts and in our language!!
November 9th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
I don’t live on 49th st, however since I shared my dog bite thoughts, allow me to share my crime thoughts too. Like I had a child bit by a dog, I also have been the victim of crime several times while living in the neighborhood. When I was a teenager my brother and I were held up at gunpoint at the corner of 45th and Larchwood around 9pm. Thankfully, neither of us were hurt and the gunman only got away with like 10 bucks. However, much later in life, after moving away from the area for many years, I had a home invasion. About 4 yrs ago, in my house, while my infant and I slept peacefully a man came in our house, tied up my (other) brother and held my mother at knife point demanding “the money bitch”. Again, thankfully no one was hurt and nothing of great value was stolen except maybe our naivety about our safety in the house. Since then, we have installed an alarm system and are quite conscious about locking doors and leaving lights on outside at night. Since then, we have had no incidents worth mentioning, but of course neighbors have. There is not some magical block that once crossed puts you in danger. We live in a big city with a high crime rate. Women in Old City were being raped just last summer and all you have to do is watch the news to see it is not just us who have danger lurking around the corner.
My opinion is we all just need to be vigilant and YES call 911 when we are concerned. I have called 911 for possible gunshots, people screaming, and even a guy acting crazy in APlus, my opinion now more so than ever is that it really is better to be safe than sorry. If I see a guy looking in cars with a flashlight, I will at the very least call 311 if I feel like 911 is too much.
Also, I agree with the PP in saying it is unnecessary to refer to anyone as an animal. We’re all humans and while some of may have a much different opinion or belief as to what is right or wrong, I cannot assume anyone has ever been taught better or is even capable of knowing better (mentally ill) so I will continue to hope for nothing but the best for all my neighbors and never forget to hit alarm on my front door every noght before bed.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:56 pm
Thank you for all of this info… Anyone know how long the african cultural center on springfield between 49th and 50 has considered itself a full on night club that is open till 4am? I hear screaming and aggression that wakes me up out of deep sleeps. cant be a good thing as far as crime or retaliation is concerned.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
If you really can’t work up the nerve to call the cops, use this Silent Witness form online:
https://secure.www.upenn.edu/publicsafety/forms/silent-witness-form/
IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU ARE NOT PART OF PENN or if the crime is in the district’s coverage area. The cops will get your message and work that out.
November 10th, 2011 at 9:59 am
We live in a community which is not a melting pot. It is not gentrified. It is a community that has a higher criminal element than most as well as students, families, long-time residents that are contributing members to the community and society. A decrease in crime won’t change overnight and possibly not long term. It’s a much deeper social issue than a neighborhood watch or contacting the authorities will solve. It’s how we handle ourselves and our security which determines how those who want to succeed will. It starts with educating those who aren’t familiar with the neighborhood how to ensure their personal security. Every year there are new young people coming into our community that are walking into new freedoms and their first time away from home. Stressing the importance of respecting the community and finding their place in it is essential. The young people that have grown up by going down a much tougher road may sometimes feel that their territory is being invaded and disrespected. Finding the balance between these two is not going to be easy, yet it starts with educating ourselves on personal security and increasing community responsibility. Name calling, implicating or suggesting who is right or wrong is unnecessary and time wasting. Working towards keeping things progressing is where our energy needs to be spent.
November 10th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Thank you for all of the thoughtful feedback.
I agree with several comments regarding the importance of building an inclusive neighborhood for all, and that stopping crime is not something that happens overnight.
I think that the town watch is a great idea, but only addresses one part of the problem. I have been brain storming to create some kind of user-driven on-line map that addresses infrastructure and safety. For instance, what blocks aren’t well lit at night? Where is traffic dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists? Abandoned property behind your house?
Having some kind of interactive map, where we could all pinpoint our areas of concern could serve as a way to begin to prevent crime, through improving our general community. It could also be used to collect and leverage information to talk to local police, politicians, and the University District about very simple improvements that could be made to the physical infrastructure of our neighborhood that may prevent crime.
An example is: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=217693267148424163577.0004b156592a162fd8433&msa=0
I don’t know who would be responsible for this–West Philly local blog or town watches, or a concerned resident, but it might be something to consider.
Let me know if the link doesn’t work.
November 10th, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Hi Renee,
Such a tool already exists, and it’s already plugged into the 311 and police systems: SeeClickFix.com. As you can see there are already a number of Philadelphia neighborhood groups using this tool to communicate with the city and police. How effective is it? I don’t know. I reported some dangerously faded bike lanes a year and a half ago and never saw anything happen, but I suspect that’s more an issue with the Streets Dept than 311 or SeeClickFix.com. As a community member, police captain, neighborhood watch group, or whatever, you can set up a watch area (here’s an example I suspect the Bicycle Coalition set up) and receive email alerts when things happen in that area. You can report overgrown weeds, abandoned properties/vehicles, nuisance issues, potholes, etc. Between that, Everyblock.com, and sites like SpotCrime.com, it seems like there are already a number of tools that community members could use to both report and collect information about crime and quality of life issues. It’s just a matter of harnessing them and getting the police on board. It’s not perfect but it’s certainly a starting point.
November 10th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Sorry, that link isn’t correct, here it is: 18th Police District Bike Incidents
November 11th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Calling 911 is pointless. I called 911 literally 5 times a week for three months over a recurring crime. They never did anything about it. They only even showed up about 10% of the time. When they did, they politely asked the criminal to leave and–no surprise–he was back within minutes. 911 does not care about you. They are as lazy and corrupt as you can get.
November 11th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
With 911, it depends on whether you’re calling about QOL or crime in progress. I’ve called for suspected burglary and the police showed up very quick.
Mike S. is right that there are many newcomers to the area who are unprepared safetywise. There are also quite a few people who just may not be cut out for city living in the long run in general. Unfortunately, those ones have a tendency to leave and then bash the neighborhood.
November 12th, 2011 at 8:17 am
Anyone know what the large, loud group late Friday night (11/11) n
November 12th, 2011 at 8:20 am
Sorry. Message sent early.
Any information on the large, loud group late Friday night (11/11) near 45th and Sansom? The group was very loud, and there were lots of sirens. Haven’t been able to find anything about it in the papers or West Philly Local.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:03 am
There also has been several noises akin to gunshot at/around 45th and Baltimore/Larchwood Saturday and sunday night. One at a time. sometimes 30 min apart. all occuring 11pm or later. anyone have any ideas on these?
November 14th, 2011 at 10:46 am
For myself, the leash conversation feels so much more manageable than the crime one. What can we do? Serious question, not rhetorical. I find myself dreaming up places to move. With small children, I don’t know if I want to wait around for a solution. But in the meantime, I do want to help support a solution too. I feel sick at my stomach each time I hear the helicopters. Yuck! I DO want to do something to stop this — besides move and stay in at night– I just don’t know what.
November 14th, 2011 at 11:10 am
kel, some kids who live on the west side of so. 45th about halfway between Larchwood and Baltimore have been using a paintball gun for target practice on the garage doors across the alley. Maybe that’s what you heard.
November 14th, 2011 at 11:16 am
Jen. are they shooting it at night? we hear one loud pop adn then 30 min later we hear another one. happened Saturday morning about 2am and last night about midnight.
November 16th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Thank you WPL for posting Renee’s honest letter. I also want to thank commenters Emma, 49th St. and Patty for your thoughts and active community engagement (among others.) I work at Penn and live west of 52nd St., not by much, but enough to know that crimes of sport are par for the course over here, and it doesn’t just increase when you leave UCD it is celebrated, bragged about and touted, loudly, and it goes largely ignored even despite community action. It also increases exponentially (as do crimes of desperation) the further you travel from the center of the Penn vortex, so I’m sure someone at 68th and Woodland, or 61st and Pine that reads my post would probably scoff at my grievances. I realize that the variation between the two neighborhoods is due largely to UCD-community involvement (all of whom I am very grateful for) but I have to agree with Renee’s assessment that the majority of people only seem to care if something affects them directly.
To echo the commenter that said that calling 911 barely helps, I agree 100%; not just for QOL issues but for actual threats to our safety. Trust me, we aren’t apathetic in West Philly; my neighbors and I have contacted numerous ward leaders, city council members and anyone else I can think of to reach out for help with well-known drug activity, violence, child welfare etc… and by-and-large they go completely unheard and without any action or adequate follow up. At one point we were openly lectured by an officer at the 18th district about how we didn’t receive service because we were poor(er) than our neighbors across the threshold. While I understand there is an unfortunate truth to that, it’s unconscionable that a public servant not only believes it, but puts it into practice, and willfully admits to it.
That said, I generally take a DIY approach to community matters and I want to be a part of whatever brainstorming there is – like a phone tree or real-time mapping device we can come up with – or the town watch that Patty mentioned. But I have to wonder, can we work together to create an overlap in outlying neighborhoods, to cover the gaps where this decline in service happens, or will it just be more of the same? I’m happy to scratch your back, if you scratch mine.
December 21st, 2011 at 6:30 pm
“No one is ever “asking” to be victimized in any way, but day to day interactions between people in our neighborhood are highly influenced by how you carry yourself – don’t carry yourself with fear, treat people with respect.”
Don’t be lulled into thinking you are any safer than anyone else if you don’t carry yourself with fear. I’ve never been fearful of my fellow citizens, and I wasn’t carrying myself with fear on the night I became a victim of violent crime. I was walking happily and calmly down my street, almost at my door, not oblivious, not talking on a cell phone, not listening to headphones. Just walking, looking around at the lovely and unseasonably warm evening. When I heard someone behind me, it was nothing unusual, because it’s usually a fairly busy street. That’s when the gun was pressed into my side and the nasty voice that I’ll never forget said, “Stop walking, bitch.” There was nothing about how I was carrying myself that caused that to happen. I know the commenter I am responding to posted a disclaimer about how no one asks for it, but as the rest of that statement kind of contradicts that disclaimer, I just wanted to say, don’t think you are any safer than anyone else, for any reason.