The Observation Deck

This crimewood thing leaves one with so many questions. Here is just a few.

What is the point?

How does one get dash cam video on you tube?

Why did whoever made this site seem to be focused on Lakewood? I can not seem to find a crimevillage.com?

Why is it that the only maps on the page are of foreclosed homes and section 8?

Maybe the most important. Who runs this debacle? If it is who I think it is they are not reading this forum but they should be ashamed of themselves for using their city to fuel the declining perception of Lakewood.

My guess is that they get the dash cam footage much like the media does - through the FOIA.

Jim DeVito wrote: to fuel the declining perception of Lakewood.

Not sure this was the effect they wanted, I prefer to think they were good meaning people, they just do not understand how, crime, property values, and perception works.

Or they do and it is a full fledge op to drive property values in Lakewood to ZERO. Using the Arthur is East Cleveland approach a house on the Lakewood will be $150,000 a home on Wynadotte about $23,000 or lower.

What is bothersome is that while record number of people are working to make Lakewood safer, cleaner and more fun. We have...


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Well I think that is the point. The site feels the need post every jaywalker who comes into contact with the police. Now where on the site do I see any suggestions or action plans to do anything about it. There are no formations of block watches. I think the definition of a well meaning person is the they provide some sort of service and it turns out that they do not have the desired effect. What kind of “serviceâ€￾ DID this site intend to provide.

Well the good thing is I don't think the site is well known at all except for those few actively trying to seek out such information or those purposely pimping the site out without solutions to any problems.

What then is the point of putting the police blotter information in the Sun, or the Observer itself for that matter?

If some information = good, then what makes more information = bad?

As for the information on foreclosed homes, isn't it a bit naive to think that the professional copper thieves weren't already getting that information from the county site? There was already an epidemic underway before that site even went up. Sure, you could argue that slapping the addresses onto a google map does them some kind of favor, but I don't see how. What it does is help neighbors keep aware of where the foreclosed properties are on their street, so they can be more aware.

The value I get out of reading that site is a) better understanding where the drivers of crime are in the neighborhood and b) realizing that maybe things actually aren't as bad as everyone's making them out to be. Sometimes having all of the information you can shows you that, while the police are extraordinarily busy, much of their day is taken up with civil disputes, checking on old and sick people and making traffic stops. Any of the really bad stuff makes its way into the Sun blotter anyway.

Why is the site owner fixated with Lakewood? That's a silly question. Why is this site focussed on Lakewood? I also don't see a Westlake Observer or a Rocky River Observer (yet!)

Jim D, you ask some other good questions. Ones which I would not presume to answer for the site owner. There's a forum on the site where I'm sure your questions would be welcome.

Brian Pedaci wrote:I also don't see a Westlake Observer or a Rocky River Observer (yet!)

http://westlakeobserver.com/

http://rockyriverobserver.com/

"Coming Soon" doesn't count