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August NEPNA Monthly Meeting Summary

NEPNA Focus on Neighborhood Crime and Safety.

The August meeting featured discussions with Officer Ray Merritt (24-year veteran of the St. Petersburg police) and William Jolley (Assistant Chief, St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue) regarding neighborhood crime and safety. 

St. Petersburg Police
Officer Merritt noted that burglaries and thefts have recently increased in Northeast Park as part of a rising trend throughout St. Petersburg. Major discussion points included:
  • Lock your cars and homes. Crimes of opportunity are often preventable by securing your possessions. Keep valuable possessions out of sight if possible.
  • Be a good neighbor. Do not hesitate to call the police (911) if you suspect that something unusual is happening. Police are typically called during or after a crime has taken place. Our neighbors know when activities are suspicious – and can help prevent a crime just by paying attention and making a call to the police.
  • Many crimes happen during the day. Officer Merritt estimated that over 90 percent of burglaries and thefts happen during the day when many of us are at work.
  • Maintain the appearance of occupancy. Arrange to have newspaper and mail delivery suspended while on vacation. Consider motion lights or light timers.
Neighborhood Crime Watch
Northeast Park does not currently have a formal Neighborhood Crime Watch program. A successful program will involve the participation of many of our neighbors and an effective means of communication among our neighbors. NEPNA Leadership has established a foundation for communication, which will serve as one component of the program. Neighborhood interest and a discussion with the St. Petersburg Police Crime Prevention group will be the focus of an upcoming NEPNA Monthly Meeting.

St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue
Assistant Chief Jolley summarized several of the programs that SPFR provides – most of which are free to St. Petersburg residents. Among the programs are free child car seat installations, free smoke alarms and installation (up to three per house – the SPFR will come to your house in an engine, which is an added bonus), fire extinguisher use training, and discounted CPR courses. All of these programs are summarized on the SPFR Website (www.stpete.org/fire).

An active neighborhood is a safer neighborhood. Let’s work to continue to make Northeast Park a great place to live.

- Darren Bishop

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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 16th, 2009 at 12:43 pm and is filed under NEPNA Announcements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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