Last evening, Community Resource Officer David Kusznir spoke to our block watch about the importance of communication with the police department and watching out for each other. He said we are the eyes and ears for the police department.He gave examples, such as our familiarity with people and vehicles in our neighborhood as a reason why we can protect and maintain our own safety.
He also told us if we see chronic habitual crime, we can report it to him and he'll do his best to catch them, given a few important details. The two forms below are to help the police department help our neighborhood. He said, the police are trained to look for specific things, he said if we start looking for these same things we can get tough on crime in our neighborhood and make the criminal element feel unwelcome.
Suspicious Person Identification Sheet
Suspicious Vehicle Sheet
He also told us he's not on call 24/7 so when we see a situation that needs immediate attention dial 204-2100, or in extreme emergencies 911 or in non emergencies we can dial 311 from a land line.
He explained how calls are handled by the police department on a daily basis. He said they are prioritized. The more serious are handled first with the less dangerous after. He said, if a shooting is in one part of town and stolen bike in another the shooting will take precedents. He said this often accounts for varying response times.
He stressed the importance of staying involved and suggested we set goals and projects we want to accomplish like documenting and photographing vacant houses.
Our next meeting will be scheduled in a month and details will follow.
