[Summit] Summit Digest, Vol 46, Issue 11
Monica Anderson
majaprov at yahoo.com
Tue Jan 6 18:53:41 UTC 2009
Dear Neighbors,
I'd like to offer the solution to the recent string of emails (regarding crime in Summit) that we resume the organization of a Neighborhood Crime Watch in the Summit area. Having been a victim of a very invasive break in of my home in 2006 I personally understand many sides of the frustrations and the societal issues surrounding crime.
Lets talk about what we can control and what we can not control as it comes to finding solutions to crime in our neighborhood. Once we have determined the stuff we can control, lets get working on it. There are resources and potential partners for us to tap into if we get organized.
I have been a resident here for 10 years and successfully organized a crime watch in conjunction with the Downtown Neighborhood Alliance 5 years ago. In 2008 there were some meetings held to organize a crime watch and they were poorly attended. We need a committed group of about 10 people willing to meet once a month for a short period of time to get this off of the ground. I need a few strong partners to help initally get this off of the ground. I know that the Hope Street Merchants are interested in participating in building a crime watch too.
Please call me if you are interested in helping to set up a meeting. I can be reached during the day at 793 4040. If you get my voice mail, please leave a message about Crime Watch so I can call you back with the appropriate information.
Lets put our heads together and tackle this issue. Elianna, Greg, Melissa I hope to hear from you. I know everyone is busy, but its worth a try.
Happy New Year
Monica Anderson
Sixth Street
--- On Tue, 1/6/09, summit-request at sna.providence.ri.us <summit-request at sna.providence.ri.us> wrote:
From: summit-request at sna.providence.ri.us <summit-request at sna.providence.ri.us>
Subject: Summit Digest, Vol 46, Issue 11
To: summit at sna.providence.ri.us
Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 11:38 AM
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: societal responsibilties and break-ins (Melissa Grisi)
2. Re: societal responsibilties and break-ins (Greg Gerritt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 10:41:27 -0500
From: Melissa Grisi <melisgrisi at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Summit] societal responsibilties and break-ins
To: <andy at mapcenter.com>, <summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
Message-ID: <COL117-W1C132B3AB47C381E7DD0BD7DE0 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
You know, when I first saw these emails going around about the break-ins going
on around our neighborhood - I had the same response as Greg. This is the effect
of the last 8 years. People are desperate. I'm not excusing these behaviors
or these crimes, but this is the reality of 8 years of this administration.
There is a lack of funding for social services in our city/state (and country)
and as a social worker I see this first hand. People are not getting the
assistance they need and crime increases in an economy such as ours.
Maybe instead of a "sting operation" we could get together as a
community and allocate some of our resources towards a non-profit in the area or
come up with our own project to assist people in need in our city.
Just an idea.
Thanks,
Melissa
From: andy at mapcenter.com
To: summit at sna.providence.ri.us
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 09:40:00 -0500
Subject: Re: [Summit] societal responsibilties and break-ins
Not trying to rank the moral standing of various criminals here, but when we
allocate our outrage, and more importantly our law enforcement resources, we
ought to remember that guys in suits are stealing more in a day than all the
guys with slim jims will steal in a century.
On Jan 6, 2009, at 4:44 AM, Greg Gerritt wrote: Much of the violence in this
country is triggered by the violence perpetuated by our government. The example
set by our government sets a tone in the streets. The levels of violence in our
communities are off the charts compared to the other western democracies. The
US wants young men to learn to be violent. How else would we fill our military
with new generations of people willing to kill poor folks around the world and
steal their oil. The military has a history of funding violent video game
development so young men will come out of High School already used to killing
on video screens, just like the new weapons. The flip side of that is how else
would we enrich the political cronies in the prison industrial complex which is
one of the fastest growing and most lucrative industries in the country these
days. The refusal to address the roots of poverty is deliberate, as is the
refusal to take practical steps to reduce the violence in our communities. The
most practical would be to reduce the military budget by around 80% and use that
money to develop a real economy rather than the deindustrialized casino that
only works to enrich Wall St. Heck, even the bailouts only enrich Wall St.
greg gerritt
on 1/5/09 11:27 PM, Bresler E at breslerfamily at gmail.com wrote:
I agree the system could offer better services, but I do not believe even the
perfect environment would end these break-in problems. or many others, as some
people seem to...
Greg, if you think that George Bush, with all the assets and power he has, is
not satisfied enough to not be violent, why do you think a burglar or a
terrorist, will stop their violence when they get what they claim to want???
I don't know what contact some folks have had with people in "need of
services" from "the system", but those of us with experience-
know that there is always the percentage who refuse assistance, or to even
acknowledge there is a problem, with drugs or what ever their issue. (I'm
talking REAL problems, not just the right to be different) Or for whom the
problem IS that nothing will EVER be good enough - everything is always someone
else's fault.
It is heart breaking to be the friend or relative or even the professional
trying to help such people; it is NOT paranoia to be concerned what these
individuals will do with their altered ideas of what are their
"rights", some of which are way outside almost anyone's idea of
acceptable civilized behavior, not to mention the law.
Remember the guy the arrested last winter for a string of break ins? The one
who robbed the front of the house while the owners were having a barbecue in the
back? Who gave a police man a tour of the neighborhood showing off all the dozen
plus houses he robbed? Who said if he could get in it was our problem? You
think he wants to change?.
I have said enough. I wasn't trying to start a war or a police state or an
argument. I just wanted to get some brain storming going- on how we can stop
this string of robberies.
But because of past experience, I find the "everyone is good at
heart" attitude to be personally offensive and insulting. A nice idea but
NOT to be depended upon
And I am very sorry to hear the car break in situation is actually so bad that
some have come to feel it is worth while to adopt the tactic of NOT locking
their cars to save window glass!
Elianna
On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 8:17 PM, Greg Gerritt <gerritt at mindspring.com>
wrote:
The most effective way to stop crime is to End Poverty. You sound like
George Bush, he set up a Department of Homeland Insecurity to make us feel
paranoid so we would feel okay about torture and starting wars. Unless we
actually address the real issues, poverty, lack of medical care for mentally
ill people, all the fortresses in the world are unlikely to work. Greg
Gerritt
on 1/5/09 7:39 PM, mwelch16 at cox.net at mwelch16 at cox.net wrote:
> Jeff- If you haven't tried Chez Pascal or Pizzico on Hope St, they
are both
> awesome places to eat. My wife and I go to both rather often. Actually,
Chez
> Pascal was one of our first 'dates'.
>
> Greg- Do you really think that the most effective way to keep our homes
and
> cars safe is to simply "end poverty"? As long as there are
such things as
> drugs and mental illness, people will break into cars and homes.
Although
> primary prevention is an ideal solution, it only works when people are
willing
> to follow rules. Although I'm unlikely to set up a sting operation,
I keep
> nothing of value in my car, my driveway and yard have motion activated
lights,
> and I have two territorial german shepherds. I don't think any of
our
> neighbors should have to live in fear of a break-in because nobody has
offered
> to employ the local junkies.
> Matthew Welch
> Colonial Rd
>
> _______________________________________________
> Summit mailing list
> Summit at sna.providence.ri.us
>
http://mail.sna.providence.ri.us/mailman/listinfo/summit_sna.providence.ri.us
> SNA Website: http://sna.providence.ri.us/
_______________________________________________
Summit mailing list
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SNA Website: http://sna.providence.ri.us/
_______________________________________________
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SNA Website: http://sna.providence.ri.us/
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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:36:45 -0500
From: Greg Gerritt <gerritt at mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: [Summit] societal responsibilties and break-ins
To: Summit Neighborhood <summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
Message-ID: <C588F2CD.36B5F%gerritt at mindspring.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
I did a consulting job for the Mental Health Advancement Resource Center a
few years ago, and ended up having conversations with people associated with
the ACI. They were very clear that much of the prison population is there
because of lead poisoning, it creates kids with limited futures and poor
decision making skills. If we actually got the lead out it would reduce
crime in the streets by at least 1/3. Though my guess is those responsible
for crime in the suites do not have that reason for diminished moral
capability. Greg gerritt
on 1/6/09 10:41 AM, Melissa Grisi at melisgrisi at hotmail.com wrote:
> You know, when I first saw these emails going around about the break-ins
going
> on around our neighborhood - I had the same response as Greg. This is the
> effect of the last 8 years. People are desperate. I'm not excusing
these
> behaviors or these crimes, but this is the reality of 8 years of this
> administration. There is a lack of funding for social services in our
> city/state (and country) and as a social worker I see this first hand.
People
> are not getting the assistance they need and crime increases in an economy
> such as ours.
> Maybe instead of a "sting operation" we could get together as a
community and
> allocate some of our resources towards a non-profit in the area or come up
> with our own project to assist people in need in our city.
> Just an idea.
> Thanks,
> Melissa
>
>
> From: andy at mapcenter.com
> To: summit at sna.providence.ri.us
> Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 09:40:00 -0500
> Subject: Re: [Summit] societal responsibilties and break-ins
>
> Not trying to rank the moral standing of various criminals here, but when
we
> allocate our outrage, and more importantly our law enforcement resources,
we
> ought to remember that guys in suits are stealing more in a day than all
the
> guys with slim jims will steal in a century.
>
> On Jan 6, 2009, at 4:44 AM, Greg Gerritt wrote:
>
>> Much of the violence in this country is triggered by the violence
>> perpetuated by our government. The example set by our government sets
a tone
>> in the streets. The levels of violence in our communities are off the
charts
>> compared to the other western democracies. The US wants young men to
learn
>> to be violent. How else would we fill our military with new
generations of
>> people willing to kill poor folks around the world and steal their
oil. The
>> military has a history of funding violent video game development so
young men
>> will come out of High School already used to killing on video
screens, just
>> like the new weapons. The flip side of that is how else would we
enrich the
>> political cronies in the prison industrial complex which is one of the
>> fastest growing and most lucrative industries in the country these
days. The
>> refusal to address the roots of poverty is deliberate, as is the
refusal to
>> take practical steps to reduce the violence in our communities. The
most
>> practical would be to reduce the military budget by around 80% and use
that
>> money to develop a real economy rather than the deindustrialized
casino that
>> only works to enrich Wall St. Heck, even the bailouts only enrich
Wall St.
>> greg gerritt
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> on 1/5/09 11:27 PM, Bresler E at breslerfamily at gmail.com wrote:
>>
>>
>>> I agree the system could offer better services, but I do not
believe even
>>> the perfect environment would end these break-in problems. or many
others,
>>> as some people seem to...
>>>
>>> Greg, if you think that George Bush, with all the assets and
power he has,
>>> is not satisfied enough to not be violent, why do you think a
burglar or a
>>> terrorist, will stop their violence when they get what they claim
to want???
>>>
>>> I don't know what contact some folks have had with people in
"need of
>>> services" from "the system", but those of us with
experience- know that
>>> there is always the percentage who refuse assistance, or to even
acknowledge
>>> there is a problem, with drugs or what ever their issue. (I'm
talking REAL
>>> problems, not just the right to be different) Or for whom the
problem IS
>>> that nothing will EVER be good enough - everything is always
someone else's
>>> fault.
>>> It is heart breaking to be the friend or relative or even the
professional
>>> trying to help such people; it is NOT paranoia to be concerned
what these
>>> individuals will do with their altered ideas of what are their
"rights",
>>> some of which are way outside almost anyone's idea of
acceptable civilized
>>> behavior, not to mention the law.
>>>
>>> Remember the guy the arrested last winter for a string of break
ins? The
>>> one who robbed the front of the house while the owners were having
a
>>> barbecue in the back? Who gave a police man a tour of the
neighborhood
>>> showing off all the dozen plus houses he robbed? Who said if he
could get in
>>> it was our problem? You think he wants to change?.
>>>
>>> I have said enough. I wasn't trying to start a war or a
police state or an
>>> argument. I just wanted to get some brain storming going- on how
we can
>>> stop this string of robberies.
>>>
>>> But because of past experience, I find the "everyone is good
at heart"
>>> attitude to be personally offensive and insulting. A nice idea
but NOT to
>>> be depended upon
>>>
>>> And I am very sorry to hear the car break in situation is
actually so bad
>>> that some have come to feel it is worth while to adopt the tactic
of NOT
>>> locking their cars to save window glass!
>>>
>>> Elianna
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 8:17 PM, Greg Gerritt
<gerritt at mindspring.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> The most effective way to stop crime is to End Poverty. You
sound like
>>>> George Bush, he set up a Department of Homeland Insecurity to
make us feel
>>>> paranoid so we would feel okay about torture and starting
wars. Unless we
>>>> actually address the real issues, poverty, lack of medical
care for
>>>> mentally
>>>> ill people, all the fortresses in the world are unlikely to
work. Greg
>>>> Gerritt
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> on 1/5/09 7:39 PM, mwelch16 at cox.net at mwelch16 at cox.net
wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> > Jeff- If you haven't tried Chez Pascal or
Pizzico on Hope St, they are
>>>>> both
>>>>> > awesome places to eat. My wife and I go to both
rather often.
>>>>> Actually, Chez
>>>>> > Pascal was one of our first 'dates'.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Greg- Do you really think that the most effective
way to keep our
>>>>> homes and
>>>>> > cars safe is to simply "end poverty"? As
long as there are such things
as
>>>>> > drugs and mental illness, people will break into
cars and homes.
>>>>> Although
>>>>> > primary prevention is an ideal solution, it only
works when people are
>>>>> willing
>>>>> > to follow rules. Although I'm unlikely to set
up a sting operation, I
>>>>> keep
>>>>> > nothing of value in my car, my driveway and yard
have motion activated
>>>>> lights,
>>>>> > and I have two territorial german shepherds. I
don't think any of our
>>>>> > neighbors should have to live in fear of a break-in
because nobody has
>>>>> offered
>>>>> > to employ the local junkies.
>>>>> > Matthew Welch
>>>>> > Colonial Rd
>>>>> >
>>>>> > _______________________________________________
>>>>> > Summit mailing list
>>>>> > Summit at sna.providence.ri.us
>>>>> >
>>>>>
http://mail.sna.providence.ri.us/mailman/listinfo/summit_sna.providence.ri>>>>>
.us
>>>>> > SNA Website: http://sna.providence.ri.us/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Summit mailing list
>>>> Summit at sna.providence.ri.us
>>>>
>>>>
http://mail.sna.providence.ri.us/mailman/listinfo/summit_sna.providence.ri.
>>>> us
>>>> SNA Website: http://sna.providence.ri.us/
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Summit mailing list
>> Summit at sna.providence.ri.us
>>
http://mail.sna.providence.ri.us/mailman/listinfo/summit_sna.providence.ri.us
>> SNA Website: http://sna.providence.ri.us/
>
>
>
> Send e-mail faster without improving your typing skills. Get your Hotmail?
> account.
>
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> 008>
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>
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