I attended the PSA (come meet the cops who patrol your neighborhood) meeting tonight at Aria Health. The crowd was small which is great since it indicates great progress has been made on the crime front.
Now if you just read that and said to yourself, is he crazy, then I have to ask why weren’t you at that meeting tonight to do something to solve the problem. It is as simple as that.
The new lieutenant in PSA 1 is Robert Casselli. He is looking for feedback from the community through these meetings. He will go around the room and ask each person what is on their mind. You get the opportunity to tell the police what is going on in your area. These guys always impress me with how much they do know. They don’t live here but they do know the area. There was talk tonight of an illegal activity taking place in an alley next to a store down the street from another place. Sergeant Revel says sure I’ve been down there lots of times, alley runs from x to y.
Lt. Robert Casselli, Officer Heather Andrews, Sgt. Al Revel
Where they need help is the specifics. If somebody is selling drugs on your block and you want it to stop, come and tell them. If the corner store is open all night attracting low life characters, let them know. Nobody knows your neighborhood like you.
I talked to Al Mitchell who lives down around Fillmore and Tackawanna. I have been listening to him at these meetings for the last year. He tells it like it is. It’s getting better. Big problems have become smaller. You have to stay on top of things but being involved in the process has made a difference.
Living in Frankford is not for bystanders. If you want to do it, you have to get involved. Just don’t complain and sit on your hands.
The next PSA 1 meeting will be on Tuesday, February 16th. You can check the 15th district web site for a complete schedule of community meetings here. For other police related news including the wanted list check it out here.
And if you want a more graphical view of the crime picture than what is offered on the PPD web site, take a look at spotcrime.com.
