Police and local clergy members started going door to door talking to residents in an effort to tackle crime in the area. Last night they were particularly targeting the 19th Police District, ABC6 reports. The goal of this new initiative is to let residents in high crime areas know about what’s happening in their neighborhood, to hear from them about trouble spots and to see what police can do to help. “We want to know from residents if they’re having any problems; poor lighting, abandoned vehicles, vacant property,” Inspector Dennis Wilson told ABC.

Police are also talking to neighbors-property owners about what they should do to protect their property more effectively and encouraging businesses to install surveillance cameras and to register them with the city.

Next week the police are supposed to knock on doors of the 18th District‘s residents.

A reader, Rachel, emails that her roommate’s bike (pictured below) was stolen yesterday from their house near 48th and Springfield:

Someone walked into our house yesterday afternoon when the door (sadly) was not latched and stole my roommate’s bike from our foyer. He commutes to work with it and it’s a really sharp looking fixed gear – we’d love to get it back to him… It’s an Origin-8 frame. Weinmann dp18 rims, silver MKS track pedals. Another neighbor let us know his lock and helmet where on the ground around the corner from our place, where someone clearly ditched them.

The bike owner filed a police report and let the local bike shops know and hopes it will turn up.

A resident helped prevent burglary the other night by reporting suspicious activity on his neighbor’s porch.

On Tuesday, at approximately 12:10 a.m., he was driving on the 800 block of S. 48th Street looking for a parking space when he saw a man standing on the porch of one of the houses, police said. The neighbor knows the owners of the property and thought the person’s activities were suspicious. When the man opened the window and started climbing into the house the neighbor called the police.

Two police officers were nearby and quickly arrived at the location. They caught the suspect near the front windows of the home, both of which were pushed open, and took him in custody. Police say that one of the windows had an air conditioning unit that was pushed in. Nothing was taken from the house.

According to police, the suspect is a known burglar in the area. “Witness did an incredible job. Noticed a stranger on his neighbor’s porch and made the right call,” tweeted Detective Joe Murray from the Southwest Detectives.

Kareem Drayton, who is accused of raping a local resident during gunpoint robbery in the Fall 2011 and a few other robberies, will be back in court on Friday, Sept. 7. Drayton initially confessed to the rape, but has since fired his lawyer and asked to withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial at his last court appearance, according to court records. The judge will consider Drayton’s request at Friday’s hearing.

Some members of the 48th Street Neighbors town watch group, which was created as a result of the Fall 2011 rape and robberies, were present at the previous hearing and are planning to attend Friday’s hearing to show their support for the victims.

The hearing will be in room 802, at the Criminal Justice Center (13th and Filbert), beginning at approximately 9:30 a.m.

Drayton’s alleged accomplice, 19-year-old Tyshanek Presley, was sentenced on August 13. About a half-dozen residents were in the courtroom for the sentencing, along with about 20 members of Presley’s family.

Here are a few stories from around West Philadelphia in the past week or so. Thanks to all the contributors who sent us information.

• Child Sexually Assaulted in Belmont. Police are searching for two men who sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl on Saturday night (Aug. 25, 8:34 p.m.) in the Belmont area of West Philly. The men accosted the girl when she was reportedly walking home from a nearby block party, took her to the rear of an abandoned building near Cambridge and 41st Street and raped. The men are described between 20 and 30 years old. Read more about the ongoing investigation here. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251.
• Mantua Community Group Suing Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. A local community group, Mantua Community Planners, is suing Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and the City of Philadelphia for kicking them out of the recreation center at 34th and Haverford. The suit claims that Blackwell locked the group out of the building that they had occupied for 45 years, removed their desks and office equipment and destroyed historical records of MCP’s work within the community. In addition to that, Blackwell allegedly struck a supporter of the group with her car’s side-view mirror and drove away. Blackwell denies both claims. Blackwell, the group alleges, is “selling out the community to the highest bidder and her political supporters.” To read more about the lawsuit, click here.
• First Round Capital Moves to West Philadelphia. First Round Capital, one of the nation’s top early-stage venture capital firms, is planning to move its headquarters to West Philly. The company, with current headquarters in West Conshohocken, has set sights on the building at 4040 Locust Street, the former Urban Outfitters store location. It is planned to initially employ about 10 people in the West Philly office and also to host five startup companies including Technically Philly, Uber Philadelphia, and Curalate, according to an article in the Area Development magazine. In addition, 24 entrepreneurs will be invited to develop their concepts and there will be space to host educational and community events.

Police say that there have been no robberies similar to this one in the area. A stranger approached a couple who were sitting on their porch near 50th and Osage last night, about 4:10 p.m., threatened them with a gun and robbed them. Here’s what one of the victims wrote. She calls the robber “a scam artist.”

On Friday evening at 4:10 p.m. a man came onto our porch at 50th st and Osage. He claimed something was happening in the neighborhood and we needed to know about it, he seemed friendly… later he “admitted” he was sent to hurt my boyfriend and he wanted to be paid off. He threatened both of us with a gun. He then led my boyfriend to an ATM and demanded $100. He got it. He was about 5’8″, dark skin, jaundice yellow eyes, buzz cut, round features. He was between 35-40yrs old with a gut. He wore a yellow polo. He was very calm, collected, manipulative, and convincing. He sat on our porch and smoked our cigarettes while threatening us. I want everyone to be warned…

The couple alerted their neighbors about this incident and would like to warn everyone to be careful when answering your door to strangers or to go inside if you’re on your porch and see any suspicious behavior.