New Haven Independent

Posted by: cedar hill resident | January 4, 2007 9:02 PM

I have to say one thing Chief Perez there maybe hope for you yet. We as a group were impressed with some of the things that were said the other night. Now weather they are going to happen only time will tell. The whole Truancy idea Bravo I think it is going to help but like the women behind me said don’t forget the kids that are expelled and suspended to. The in school suspension great idea. Working with the parents I still insist that my idea about having classes for this like DVS has for men who hurt women is a great idea. Child neglect is against the law, even if the reason is economic and the parent is working a lot many parents (including me a single mom) work 2 jobs and still manage to have a handle on there children. Teach them the skills if they don’t have them.
The officers from dixwell have the right program for that five percent they are on to something and I hope that it is a program that can expand city wide! My other favorite moment is when someone mentioned the rude and unhelpful staff that answers the phone at the police dept. (that to got a round of applause) And I am sure they will be fixing that now (at least I hope).

These are a lot of positive numbers and they make no sense to the people who are from the communities that are troubled; because we are not seeing a drop we are seeing a climb. Maybe we have just stopped calling and reporting because it is not going to get a cop to come anyway. They explain some legal things (red tape stuff that prevents certain things from happening that need to be changed).
The mayor talked about the powers that be working together Schools, Dept of Families Services and Yale child studies and a few others. He was right he really seems to have some things changing and I would loves to see the numbers next year.
All and all it was hope. There were few other idea they talked about that I really hope come to light but they seemed to be things still in the works. But the Truancy and guns are a start

All and all I the most cynical person I know besides one of my fellow block watchers walked out of that meeting feeling like they may be finally getting it. They had so many great ideas that they are going to be working on. I pray it all happens.

Posted by: Steve | January 5, 2007 12:58 AM

Finally, it looks like New Haven is organizing to try and seriously improve resources via street outreach workers, partnerships, extended youth programs, increased PD and walking beats, etc.

The key is to see it as a marathon and not short term and to make sure funding and support goes beyond 2 or 3 years where slowly a better life for our young people and all people can emerge.

Posted by: TSN | January 5, 2007 9:04 AM

Here we go again, the statistics loving Chief Ortiz is at it again, aided and abided by Mayor "Bling-Bling" Destefano. The drop in the crime rate in the city is not reflected by the quality of life experiences of most residents. The shootings and murders are alarming. Youth continue to run wild in the streets.

Finally something being done to lean on the kids and the nuance locations. Is it a glimmer of community policing? Sadly, I think it is window dressing, Bling-Bling.

The 45 new recruits that will supposedly hit the streets in December, according to our statistic quoting, Chief Ortiz, who is responsible for destroying community policing in New Haven for his lousey leadership, will be accompanied by training officers and really will not be ready for individual patrol until 6 months after hitting the street.

The number of new recruits will not be sufficient to increase the officers on patrol. They will not keep up with retirements, injuries, and the long long over due promotion exams. The officers, currently on patrol, are maxed out. The amount of overtime and the shuffling around of resources is taking its toll on our first line of defense, the police officers on patrol. This is a serious crisis that is not being addressed.

Community policing is time consuming for the police. It requires a huge investment of resources. It works. We, in New Haven, know it works. It is broke now. It was broken by Mayor Bling-Bling Destefano and Technology/Statistic quoting Chief Ortiz. They are not going to fix it, because they do not know how, or are not humble enough to admit that they screwed up.

Bringing community leaders together, round table discussions, I suspect are more attempts to spin the crisis of public saftey. Have you ever talked to the Chief or Mayor Bling-Bling Destefano? Watch them closely? They are not listening to you. They are preparing a defensive response to your inquiries and concerns. Our community policing destroying Chief Ortiz will tell you all the wonderful things the police are doing, after just hearing from residents who are fed up with the teen thugs, break ins, and crappy response time.

The NAACP of Connecticut, that should be interesting. The African American male leadership has failed their community time and time again. More of the same old same old. If it fails, and it will likely fail, Bling Bling Destefano will not have lost anything. He would have just gotten some good press for "doing something." As long as the issue of parental responsiblity is left out of this conversation, the problem will continue to spiral out of control.

All that being said, the police and Mayor can not be the only solution to the problems facing our city. The strength of New Haven is its neighborhood communities. As residents, we have take back control, be responsible parents and neighbors, cooperate with the police, and teach our kids respect, self control, and manners. Landlords must be accountable for their properties. As residents, we have be more involved in our neighborhoods, holding our alderpersons responsilble. The politicial machine of Mayor Bling-Bling Destefano needs to be taken apart, it begins with us and our alderpersons.

Posted by: Cedar Hill Resident | January 5, 2007 4:25 PM

“I rant, therefore I am.� Dennis Miller