On Tuesday, Dec. 13, a town hall meeting was held in Police Service Area 3 of the 26 District to share end-of-the-year statistics.
Captain Michael Cram made his presentation at the meeting held in the basement of the Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church at 701 East Gaul Street, which was attended by Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and Angel Torres of the District Attorney’s office.
The 26 District is a “mid-level district,” Cram said, with between 65,000 and 80,000 residents, and is broken up into three PSA’s. In PSA 3, which extends from Front Street to the Delaware River, homicides are infrequent with only three in the last year.
One of the biggest issues facing PSA 3 is property crime, with 1,400 incidents reported. “It’s amazing the amount of property crimes in this area,” Cram said.
Property crimes include home burglaries and thefts from auto, and Cram said there has been a spike in robberies in the last month.
“What we find with burglaries, is they’re not just stopping at one – they’re doing two or three,” Cram said. In an effort to stem these problems, Cram and his men “stay on top of the pawn shops,” he said.
Thefts from auto keep area police busy, with over a thousand thefts from auto in the last year, Cram reported. “Keeping valuables hidden doesn’t do any good,” Cram said. The criminals target a block and they’ll break in even for just a few quarters, Cram added.
In the last year, 250 residential burglaries were reported in PSA 3. “They use force and go through the back door or windows,” Cram said. “They’re gonna do it quickly.”
Of the 64 burglars arrested, most are adult residents of PSA 3 and are repeat offenders. “They are generational burglars,” Cram said.
Addressing the audience’s concerns about recidivism, Cram said, “It’s tough to keep ‘em in.”
Cram turned his attention to Torres from the DA’s office, who said that “Community prosecution has been a huge success” in other areas. When criminals from other communities go to court, residents have shown up in large numbers to get results.
Stolen cars are also an issue. Most of the cars that are stolen are 10 years old or older and they’re not “going to the streets,” Cram said.
In PSA 3, there were 312 quality of life arrests including underage drinking and public intoxication.
There were 48 drug buyers and 44 sellers arrested in PSA 3 in the last year. “Our prescription narcotics in this neighborhood are bad,” Cram said.
Curfew violations and truancy is down. “I don’t have a lot of juvenile crime,” Cram said.
Cram focused the end of his presentation on ways that the community can help the police do their jobs. With the help of a neighbor, the 26 District was able to take over 2447 Jasper Street, a house that was home to drug dealers and prostitutes. It took 451 radio calls, 183 emails, four arrests and one year to convince the courts that the house was a problem.
“We can’t do those things without the community,” Cram said.
Commissioner Ramsey spoke after Cram finished his presentation. He encouraged the audience to attend hearings if they are the witnesses or victims of a crime, no matter how small. He said he hoped to implement training programs to teach landlords how to operate their businesses.
Prostitution should be a big item on the agenda, he said. “We gotta get the Johns,” Ramsey said, referring to the men who pay prostitutes for their services.
“I promise you that I’ll do everything I can,” Ramsey said in conclusion.
This story and my photos appeared in today's edition of Star newspaper.
