Lt. Tony Burton
Recent changes in police staffing brought a new captain to the 15th district and a new Lt. to PSA1. Captain John McCloskey moved from the 35th district to take over from Captain Frank Bachmayer. Lt. Tony Burton was recently promoted and will take over PSA1 from Lt. Derrick Wood.
Lt. Burton attended the PSA1 meeting on the 27th along with officers Austin and Andrews. There was a good turnout with about 20 residents present.
The situation on the 4700 block of Griscom is stable. Drugs continue to be present but violence has declined. The squatter in the house on the block continues to be an issue and plans by the owner of the property to press charges are moving forward.
The drug problem in the area of Frankford and Foulkrod continues. When the police are present it goes indoors but when they are absent it is public and blatant. The building behind the Sugar & Spice store on Foulkrod is a hot spot and L&I is working on that issue. One business in that area is known to be cooperating with the drug dealers. Residents are advised to call the police when the see drug activity to get it on the record.
The 5000 block of Griscom is quieter but there are still problems.
Lt. Burton noted that it might be productive to target a particular area for increased police presence in order to clean up that small area. The effect would be to disrupt the drug business and see immediate improvement. The residents at the meeting all agreed that the area of the FTC from Bridge down to Pratt is the most active and would benefit most. The Lt. is looking into that strategy.
The next PSA1 meeting will be on December 20th at 7PM at Aria Hospital.
