Suzanne Metelko wrote:Kenneth Warren wrote:Suzanne:
Do we really have to wait for a new Mayor to get the data needed to act on the safety front?
Sure, it would be great to have it, to have meaningful measures. Can we really afford to wait?
Does the city wait to see how data will be spun by whomever is elected while the guts of so many citizens are telling us we need to do something bold?
Kenneth Warren
Ken, Are you really advocating governance by gut? If the Mayor were to just gut it out and throw a large amount of money at the police without knowing if that's the answer - what kind of managment is that?
Am I reading this right? We are in a badly managed war with criminals and you're advocating a surge?
Suzanne
Suzanne
If you only know how to use a hammer, a screw will always look like a nail.
You and Ryan are the only ones blaming any new influx in crime on bad management, and as of yet have not proven one shred of evidence that it has anything to do with management. Of course you and Ryan are trying desperately to change that management you question.
Crime, or more to the point preparation for new crime is not a political discussion. That is unless you want to talk about the complete failure of the Republican Administration in charge of the country. That has gutted local control of the police, schools, jobs, employment, etc.
The facts for all to see without any help from CitiStat. The region is losing jobs (as are most regions in the US), Cleveland (the poorest city in the country) is going through strategic planning to force some of their residents from the city in the the suburbs. Many of these people are criminals. Not quite as bad as the Mariel Boat lift from Cuba, but you get the picture.
Lakewood has got to redevelop the attitude and mind set it had in the days of Bob Lawther and Tony Sinagra. A very nice, very clean, very safe city. Come to Lakewood to live, work, play and you will have a nice experience, come for mischief and crime and you will go to jail.
I also take real exception over going door to door to scare people. While this has worked for many levies other have worked on nothing could be farther from the truth. When the "Observers are on the street we engage in lively conversation about what is right in Lakewood and how they feel. This is not some "push poll" designed by any one group with one idea they are wishing to promote. No one runs up the porch and asks "How do you feel about the bad crime?" I cannot speak for Tom Powell Bullock as I have not gone door to door with him.
This is one of the pleasures of being part of the Lakewood Observer, people love to talk about their city. It is a variety of topics that are covered nothing is single out as "the problem." Reassurance is always given because unlike some I see a bright future for Lakewood if we can keep the momentum up that has been started with groups like: LEAF Community, Bike Lakewood, Lakewood Is Art, Caring 4 Kids Cove, MAMA, and others. These are people that get Lakewood. It the people that can make the biggest difference.
Two years ago we asked if Lakewoodites would be ready to walk the streets for fun, and more eyes on the street. The idea fell flat. Recently we are talking with people that have successfully started block watches with the help of the police. A good step. We are both smart enough to realize that city block watches have many more positive effects than simply deterring crime. It develops a larger sense of community and ownership.
The number of 29 police, is not meant to stop a leak and fix a small problem. It is a number meant to send a warning through the criminal underworld. Come to Lakewood and you will be caught. Come to Lakewood and the residents and police will stop you cold. Citistats cannot deliver that message. "We have studied the crime in Lakewood for the last five years and have found out we need 1.5 police between the hours of 5:30 and 9:15, and 2.1 police during bar closing. We have gone the extra step of hiring 3." Just doesn't strike fear in the hearts of criminals.
But again I am not for managing decline, I am about bold new steps out of the box thinking that gives Lakewood the competitive edge we need in the coming twenty years. I do not need last years number to distribute police around a city of 5.5 square miles. As I mentioned, a couple nights ago While chasing punks in Birdtown, you know Lakewood's Historic and Art's District, we heard calls go out to Morrison and Athens, Lake Road, Hird, Robinwood, Lake(east) and Clifton Park. All but two calls were nuisance and domestic, but they all cut into the police time bank.
If we spend million on libraries and schools, why would we not want to protect them and all who go? As we look realistically at the future of the region and the country, tough times ahead. I do not see three steel mills opening, four car plants opening, etc. I see the opposite. Throw in cost of living, drug and alcohol dependency, and the current trend of many parents to raise feral children that cannot make change. I see tough days ahead for every city. Why not get ahead of the only stat that really matters.
You have some very good police, now working 12 hour shifts, and made to answer many calls that should not even be involving police. Has there been any studies of the nuisance law creating more police calls, as residents hide behind police instead of talking to neighbors over the fence? DL once proposed a mediation service for neighbors would this have been a better way then throwing more work on our security forces?
A simple question I asked Mr. Demro yesterday when I had a chance to speak with Ryan. "Where do you want to live? In a city with no enough police, just enough, or more than enough?" As he is running for office, I will not get his answer, let me just say his answer was the same as everyone else.
To me the simple lesson is, get ahead, or we all end up talking like Ken Warren whose life and business was just involved in a complete act of random violence by thugs coming in from outside of Lakewood's borders to create mischief and terror.
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