Tower Grove CDC Presents the Tower Grove South Safety Assessment and Discusses the TGS Neighborhood Ownership Plan
Wednesday night the monthly Tower Grove Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation meeting was held at 4168 Juniata. 26 residents from Tower Grove South were in attendance to discuss the progression of the Neighborhood Ownership Model for the TGS area. A Safety Assessment of Tower Grove South had been completed since and was presented at the meeting. This assessment was created utilizing crime statistics from 2012 and 2013 that were provided by the St. Louis Police Department, information gathered from residents during previous meetings and results from a Neighborhood Safety Survey that was available on line and at meetings. The information gained from the Safety Assessment will be used to create a written Neighborhood Ownership Model plan for Tower Grove South. It also was used to identify safety initiatives for the neighborhood that match with the resident’s requests and crimes prevalent in Tower Grove South.
The Safety Assessment is a living document and will change as neighbor input is received or spikes in crime are reported.
You may view the Safety Assessment here: NOM TGS Safety Assessment
You may view the proposed Safety Initiatives for Tower Grove South here :NOM TGS Proposed Activities
Information on the Neighborhood Ownership Model can be found here: http://www.circuitattorney.org/NeighborhoodOwnershipModel.aspx
If you have not yet filled out the Neighborhood Safety Survey, please do so here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TGNCDC_NOM_Survey
Sgt. Johnson, from the SLPD, introduced the new 2nd district Tower Grove South police liaison Ed Slade. Officer Slade is a 17 year veteran of the police force and is excited to begin working on safety initiatives in TGS.
Officer Slade discussed the recent crime statistics for TGS , which showed trends of larceny, burglary and auto theft. He reiterated the importance of reporting crime and suspicious activity to the police when it is seen. Officer Slade can be reached for any questions at edslade@stlpd.com
Officer Slade and Sgt. Johnson spoke on the need for volunteers for Citizens on Patrol. They both agreed that the name of the program will be changed soon to reflect the true nature of the program. The goal of the soon to be renamed Citizens on Patrol program is to train and recruit residents to take ownership of their neighborhoods by driving/ walking/ biking/scooting around in pairs or groups to not only keep an eye out for crime, but to keep eyes out for dangerous situations (street damage, fallen trees, trash, alley blockages etc) to report, meet other neighbors to build a strong community and to show a visual presence to potential criminals that the neighborhood is active and watching. Training for the program will be set up in the next few weeks.
For more information or to sign up for training please email: kristan@towergrovecdc.org
Officer Slade and Dottie Pennington (manager of the Citizens Service Bureau) discussed the importance of utilizing the Citizens Service Bureau to report any problems any “quality of life” issues you may see. You can reach the CSB at 314-622-4800. To help us better track calls, please reference the TGS Neighborhood Code: NOM-TGS-001.
Judy Lane , TGS Neighborhood Stabilization Officer, spoke about the need for Block Captains and this year’s mission to place a trained Block Captain on each block in Tower Grove South. Block Captain training will be set up in the near future and will be offered at our monthly meeting.
If you are interested in becoming a Block Captain please contact: Kristan @TowergroveCDC.org
Judy Lane also spoke in reference to nuisance properties in the neighborhood. If a property receives two or more calls for nuisance activity within a year or one call for drugs or firearm discharge the property will be listed as a Nuisance Property. If further nuisance activity is reports, the landlord and person engaging in the nuisance can be fined, jail time can be added and as a last resort the property can be boarded up for a year. If you have a problem property on your block, please contact the police each time there is a disturbance or suspected illegal activity.
For more information you can contact the TGS Nuisance Officer Dave Krapf at DEKrapf@SLMPD.ORG or contact the non-emergency number 314-231-1212
Missy Pinkerton-McDaniel, 15th Ward Committeewoman, gave an update legislation being presented in Jefferson City to help combat nuisance properties and potential state funding for Neighborhood Watch/Neighborhood Safety Initiatives.
For more information contact: missymcdaniel@me.com
The Neighborhood Ownership Plan for TGS will be presented at the next TGNCDC meeting on March 27th, 2013 at 6:30pm. This meeting will provide a safety update and Citizens On Patrol (COPS) Training! Court Advocacy Training and Impact Statement training will follow the COPS training at to be determined date in April.
Thanks and we look forward to seeing you at the next meeting!
This activity is funded by a HUD Community Development Block Grant
via the St. Louis Community Development Administration.