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By David E. Booker Thirty-five residents and business owners in Old North Knoxville recently met with three members of the Knoxville Police Department (KPD) at Fourth Presbyterian Church to discuss crime in the neighborhood and to begin forming Neighborhood Watches. The church is located at the corner of Glenwood and Broadway.
On Thursday, May 17th residents met with East District Patrol Sergeant Sherri Uzzle, beat Officer R. Belphrez, and Neighborhood Watch coordinator Officer Phil Garland. Residents expressed concern about prostitution, gun shots, drugs, and car break ins in the neighborhood. Though many of the residents said they have called the emergency and non-emergency numbers (listed below) when seeing these and other things, it appeared from the meeting that many of these calls were not getting reported to the right people in the KPD. Sergeant Uzzle said she would look into this and try to have an answer for the neighborhood by the regular monthly Neighborhood Meeting, May 31st. She also said a representative of the KPD would start attending the monthly meetings, held at 1411 Armstrong on the last Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. Also discussed at the meeting was the formation of Neighborhood Watches. Officer Garland recommended stating out small and then expanding to include more homes. He said Old North Knoxville could have several Neighborhood Watches, that each watch could define its boundaries as long as at least fifty percent of the people within a boundary were willing to participate. People not attending the meeting could still sign up to participate. Even homebound residents who were not able to make the meeting could sign up to participate, Officer Garland said. Sign up sheets were provided to Rena Webb, who is coordinating the effort in Old North Knoxville. The goal of the Neighborhood Watch program is to bring people and communities together while reducing crime. For those who have any misgivings about participating in the Neighborhood Watch program, here are some facts to keep in mind. A Neighborhood Watch will:
A Neighborhood Watch is not:
The main goals of a Neighborhood Watch are:
Making your home and car as difficult to break into as possible is known as “target hardening.” According to Officer Phil Garland of the Knoxville Police Department (KPD), in the United States last year, fifty percent of all burglaries were through unlocked doors. Therefore, one of the easiest things you can do is to never leave your doors and windows unlocked, even when at home. Also, leave lights on when you leave home. If you have a security system, use it. If your thinking of getting a dog, great. Owning a dog, even more than owning a gun, is the best home defense against break ins. The size of the dog or the size of the bark are not as important as owning a dog. Another part of target hardening is getting to know your neighbors and then keeping an eye out for suspicious activity. This does not mean spying on your neighbors. It does mean keeping a log of anything you think is suspicious and reporting it to the police. The easiest way to decide if something is suspicious is by getting to know your immediate neighbors, those who live immediately across the street from you, to your left and right, and behind you. This opens up communication, with both your neighbors and with the police. In other words, a Neighborhood Watch program is simply neighbor helping neighbor, and it requires very little effort. If you see something suspicious, here are three numbers you can use:
If you do use the 911 number or 215-4010 and you don’t want the police to come by your home, let the operator know when you call. For more details on the Neighborhood Watch program or to sign up to participate, contact Rena Webb at 546-8717. The sooner the watches get started, the sooner we will all see the benefits.
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