After a week off, this post may seem like ancient history, but I'm going to write it anyway because I think the story should be shared.
On June 15 I wrote a post titled "No Fresh Air This Summer" about several break-ins in my neighborhood. The post also included the details of a very disconcerting incident involving a scream in the dark, a gunshot, and less than stellar response from the APD.
Within 24 hours, Asst. Chief Ron Manescu had called me to discuss the incident and within 48 hours, Captain Steven Mould had emailed asking if we could speak on the phone.
Ron Manescu and I have known each other for over ten years. As I've posted before, when I was running for mayor, he was one of my top three choices for chief. He was not calling in an official capacity. Our conversation was informal and off the record, so it will suffice to say that he was inquiring as to whether there were more details than he read in the post.
Captain Mould and I have been in the same room together at a few meetings, but we don't really know each other. I was impressed with his professionalism and his concern for trying to piece together what happened the night of the incident I reported. He was, as he should be, concerned about being fair to his officers and wanting to get both sides of the story. He ended our conversation with a commitment to get back to me once he's looked in to it.
One of the privileges of writing a blog, or anything for that matter that other people take the time and energy to read, is to tell both sides of the story to the best of one's ability. So since I didn't hesitate to write about a not very positive experience regarding my 911 call. I want to also write about the positive, timely and concerned response I received from the Department's leadership.
Even when things don't go well, it's important to remember that these men and women put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe, and they do it under less than ideal conditions. I think Asst. Cheif Manescu summed it up well in an email he sent after our conversation...
From a professional note, I see in the eyes of these overworked men and women, the strain of trying to keep up, and how they quietly bear the tremendous responsibility of solving difficult and complex cases. I am amazed some come to work; which is a testament to their dedication and care of the community they work in.
Above and below them, they are expected to do exactly as you described – more with less – and if they fail, it is easy to point the fault in their direction.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
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11 comments:
Hi Pam,
One thing that I like and really respect about you is that you post followups and often give another's point of view in your blog. The blogosphere needs more bloggers like you and far less of the knuckleheads that just like to stir things up for fun. Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Bob
Thanks, Bob.
I take the responsibility of writing this blog, very seriously.
It's a privilege to have people come here to read it. I try to give them the best information I can...along with my point of view.
When it comes to our police department, they deserve to have their story told...
I also appreciate the blog as a reasoned perspective as well.
One of the points I think you have made is how understaffed the APD is at this point. I have serious concerns about some of our policing policies.One in particular is not having officers respond to a call by talking to citizens face to face. I think citizens loose connectivity to the force and vice versa. Fewer calls and citizen apathy may very well be the result. I hope we are watching this closely.
The part that you have highlighted for me is how officers must feel in an understaffed situation. We are asking a lot from these men and women and if they loose our support their duty will be come all the more difficult. We really are all in this together.
Bill,
We really are all in this together and we need to be as understanding of each other as possible.
I imagine the APD gets pretty exasperated with us, and we get upset when we don't get the attention from them that we think we should have.
You're right, it's a fine line as to how much interaction we can expect from a department that is stretched so thin.
Mrs. Varkony,
Ever since the early retirements, things between residents and the police dept. seem stressed.
Mrs. Varkony,
Maybe you can do something cause we have tried and failed.
1. why does city police force
refuse to enforce darkened car window laws or enforce
broken or non-existence mufflers that spew raw exhaust through neighborhoods? And, we wonder why center city children have high lead levels.
One thing all of us need to also remember... Police are not super heroes like some movies & TV shows portray. They are real human beings with all the emotions that come with it. Being on the force is a job. No one wants to get injured/killed on any job. How frustrating to be picking up the same characters time after time.
While we all would like them to quite down noisy neighbors or tag errant motorist, there are far more pressing matters that need prioritizing in many cases. To be overwhelmed by far more serious offenses.
My hope would be that everyone would just take a couple to listen to scanner dispatches some evening. If you don't have a scanner click here to listen. It's not the complete dispatch system, but gives you an idea of just how busy things are for them.
Mrs. Varkony,
With much respect to another blogger, (10:58) we know you are aware of the broken window theory.
If the police do not stop darkened window drivers (a critical safety factor for police as well) it sends a message to locals. "Anything goes."
We maintain it is not less important than other anti-crime fighting measures. We do not suggest night patrols investigate such issues, but certainly day patrols could.
Additionally, we wish to bring up another issue that targets downtown neighborhoods: illegal car repairs. Imagine a neighbor repairing two or three cars on a weekly basis in their driveway, surrounded by 10 or so friends and have an officer drive by and not even stop to ask what is going on. Officers could check all vehicles for proper registration and file a report. The police department could send copies of these reports to the city’s zoning office for corrective action. Illegal garages are rampant in many Allentown neighborhoods and highlight another sad example of the broken window theory.
I think everyone can agree we simply need more folks in law enforcement in Allentown. It's not rocket science, of course. We just need some more good guys in this town! (Or gals.) Where are the folks in the white hats???
I support aggressive management of all crimes, large and small. But, the APD are not in a position to tackle tinted windowns when we have constant dangerous criminal activity that needs immediate attention at all time. We simply need more officers and more law enforcement personnel to assist those officers. Would you want an officer to attend to loud mufflers or a robbery reported to be in progress? These are the choices the APD makes every day, many times a day.
If only General Trexler were still alive. I'm sure he'd support giving $2 million to APD to hire more officers instead of a deluxe playground on the outskirts of a failing city. What good are his parks if they are only islands of beauty in a sea of filth and crime?
to anonymous 11:47...everyone is aware of the "broken windows theory" which is exactly what it's name implies, a "theory"...one by the way which made it's author, who was never a police officer or administrator, very wealthy. i am sure every officer on the force would love to stop every vehicle code they see, but this isn't some small 'burb where the officers have spare time to be proactive. if you listen to a scanner, these guys and girls are going from call to call for their entire shift. when there is down time, they are going after drug dealers and other crimes. what you ask for isn't practical in any sense of the word...a report for every car sent to code ??? !!! once again, listen to a scanner and you'll hear over and over again "i'll write this call later, what do you have now for me" and they are sent to another call. your ideas of policing will not and can not work in a city like Allentown until there is at least some sort of a resemblance of a properly staffed police force.
APD is unstaffed because of the current leadership were not paying attention when their subordinates were stacking up OT to jump on the Afflerbach pension offer. You reap what you sow, blame all you pals that walked with huge pensions and are now working again for some other city with the pension in the bank.
As a result APD will have to do more with less for many years. Probably need to separate the essential law enforcement duties from duties, like traffic control, funeral escort, crowd control, etc and push these duties to someone else , like jimmy spang incorporated were they all moonlight anyhow.
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