More Block Captains, More Coverage, New Strategies
by Mary Trauner and Pam Brown
Montford’s NHW is expanding. On Tuesday, February 23, the watch held its second community-wide meeting. We had a good turnout and productive discussions. Here’s a summary of what happened.
— We reviewed Neighborhood Watch concepts and the areas of Montford that are currently covered. We now have 15 block captains covering about 250 homes or almost 1/3 of our community. We recruited several more block captains at the meeting.
— We set a target date of March 30 to have the captains collect information on all neighbors in these areas to update our community database.
— We heard about how neighbors have mobilized for safety in the Flint-Starnes-Cumberland area and formed a group call Women Walking Safely. See the article by Mary Beth Gwynn for details.
— We discussed locations for the six signs provided by the city and possible purchase of more for $70 each.
— We talked about how neighbors can schedule a security survey for their home with our Community Resource Officer, Katie Beane. Several residents who have had the survey done gave testimonial summaries. Contact Officer Katie at kbeane@ashevillenc.gov or 552-9423.
— We discussed opportunities for self-defense training. Officer Katie is completing RAD (rape aggression defense) training and will be certified to instruct us soon. Other classes are under study and will be summarized on the list serve.
— Charlie Hume, chair of the Citizens Police Advisory Committee (CPAC), gave a summary of the organization and its principles. He stressed relationship-building between police and the community and how the CPAC philosophy includes empowering and strengthening community-based efforts.
— We held a Q&A, which included discussions on street lighting, “power line tennis shoes”—just what DO they mean?—and police contact avenues (which number to call when).
— The evening ended with Sharon Fahrer providing a history of how, in past years, community watch programs helped create a safer environment in Montford when it was in the grips of much more serious crime—how watch programs worked then and how they can continue to serve us.
For more information, see www.montford.org/nhw/index.html. Call Mary Trauner (505-0980) or Pam Brown (713-9440). And remember, MOST IMPORTANTLY, to sign up for the Montford list serve by going to www.montford.org/Mailinglist.aspx.
