[The below link is] the first issue of a newsletter that reviews some of the Region II District Reps’ activity for the first 6 months this year. I thought it would be helpful to let you all know what things the DRs have been doing throughout the year:

Volume I, July 2011 Issue

The newsletter will also be on the Region II DR website next week under the heading “Newsletter”. I will likely make this available on a quarterly basis to keep you up to date.

Sergeant Cara Boyd
Region II Support
District Representatives (ADAM/EDWD)
512-974-6806
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/police/district_representatives.htm
Participate in APD Community Alerts Sign Up for the Citizen Observer

North Austin is stuck in a rather strange situation. The Precinct 2 Constable office is in our area. But thanks to the odd way the precincts are drawn, a lot of the area right next to the Constable’s office actually belongs to downtown Constable’s office!

The precinct 2 Constable has asked a judge to meet with him, look at the lines, and move them slightly so:

1) they can actually provide services to the people in the area they have offices in
2)  people in our area don’t have to drive downtown any more to the other Constable’s office

The judge will listen – IF the Constable can show that the people in our area want this change in the district lines.

We need North Austinites to show up at the meeting and prove to this judge that we want this change. It means better and faster service for North Austin, AND it will save us gas and the time it takes to go downtown if we need to deal with a civil matter.

August 2nd, Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. in the Commissioners Courtroom on the first floor of the Travis County Administration Building (Ned Granger Building) at 314 W. 11th St. The public is welcome in the courtroom.

What exactly is a Constable? Well, these are the guys who drive around in the brown cars (they look like sheriff’s cars if you’re not paying attention) and handle civil cases, instead of criminal cases. They also do patrols to back up APD, and do community outreach and training.

The Precinct 2 guys take it a bit further – they run a great Explorer program to reach youth and get them involved and out of trouble.  They also have been very helpful when the Coalition has needed assistance with Watch training, our neighborhoods have weird questions on civil matters, or when we need an few extra hands to volunteer at an event.

And I will repeat what I said earlier -  the Constables will also do patrols in their area, as a way of helping out the neighborhoods and backing up APD. Now think about that for a minute. If your offices are downtown are you going to drive all the way up to North Austin to do an extra patrol? On the other hand, if your offices are in North Austin already, how easy is it to drive through one of our neighborhoods while you are doing your other duties?

So please tell a neighbor – and let’smake sure we have a strong showing!

Also, if you want a ride, send an email to info@lovenorthaustin.com and we will try our best to match you up with somebody going!

You can download the map and see the changes here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/33745611/Final%20Map%201.pdf

NACA GENERAL MEETING

Thursday May 19, 2011

Little Walnut Creek Library

Introductions:

Eleanor Langsdorf called the meeting to order at 7:02pm.

Announcements 

The April meeting minutes were distributed and approved with some corrections.

NACA currently has over $1,500.00 in general operating funds. Eleanor stated that we have not spent any beautification funds recently.

Eleanor introduced APD Officer Frank Wilson the new APD District Representative who serves the NACA area exclusively. Sergeant Boyd and Brown were also introduced. Officer Wilson prefers to be contacted via email (frank.wilson@ci.austin.tx.us) but you can also reach him via phone at 947-8135. He also brought documentation of crimes in the area over the last month.

A resident spoke of an incident in which a 911 operator hung up when reporting an incident. Sgt Brown stated that if that happens, call 911 back and ask for the Communications Supervisor. They will play back tapes to determine responsibility and take corrective action.

Susie discussed a project at Wooldridge Elementary to clean up the vegetable gardens.

Gabe Rojas mentioned that a task force has formed on providing input to the APD District Representative program. You can contact Mary Rudig at gracywoodsna@yahoo.com if you want to participate on the task force.

John Green, the new ANC Representative for NACA, stated that Capital Metro is planning for permits and improvement to the urban rail system. They are looking at a hybrid of processes to move forward with mass transit.

Nathalie Cappione was introduced as the new layout person for the NACA neighborhood newsletter.

A resident discussed the litter problems created by Lanier High School students parking on Fairfield Drive.

Speaker: Mary Rudig, Gracywoods Neighborhood Association

Gracy Woods has had a Neighborhood watch since 2004 and she has been a leader on her street since 1998.

She is also a coach for CLASP (Citizen Led Austin Safety Partnership). This is a summary of best practices for building a Watch Program which creates healthy and dynamic partnerships between community, community leaders and law enforcement agencies.

Building walls or castles is a best practice. This involves the following:

1. “Doing the Five”

2. Having a Block watch

3. Having a Neighborhood Watch

4. A neighborhood patrol

5. Network with businesses and apartments in the area.

Criminals love to target messy neighborhoods and homes.

Wall One; Doing the five includes; having one house one either side and three homes across the street to watch out for each other’s property; picking up trash; mowing grass and removing dead brush; offer to park your car in the neighbor’s driveway if they are on vacation;

Wall Two: Block Watch. Make sure your street is alert, know your neighbor and who their kids are, know what cars belong on your street; having good lighting, criminals shy away from a home that is well lit at night; have neighbors phone numbers; call 311 and 911 without hesitation; keep street clean and home neat.

Wall Three; Neighborhood Watch; communication is the key. Call 311 and 911 and ask for an incident number; distribute flyers when there is a reoccurring crime problem; access Yahoo groups and Gmail accounts; Have at least one or two trainers or coaches for watches. Keep logs of all problems, incident and case numbers.

Bushes should be trimmed at least 6 inches below the windows.

Harden up your homes. Do not store garage remotes in vehicles; unplug garage door opener while on vacation; ensure all exterior door have deadbolts; check locks on windows; install better locks if windows can be easily moved off tracks.

Use Spot Crime and Krimelabb to keep eye on crime in the neighborhood; stay in contact with APD District Reps; attend quarterly Commanders Forum; learn to use resources of Code Enforcement and Homeowner Association rules to maintain proper look of your neighborhood.

Dead bolts should have 4 inch black dry wall screws that sink into the door frame. Install a lockpin or place dowel in sliding glass door.

You can contact Mary at info@gracywoods.org or gracywoodsna@yahoo.com

Speaker: Jack Darby, Web Developer, Krimelabb.com

Austin is currently ranked the 6^th safest city in the nation.

Krimelabb is based on APD date going back to 2007. It is updated daily with a two day lag. There are many undocumented features.

Proximity is between 1 and 9. One is 100 meters; Nine is 900 meters. The case number is also a link to the crime summary. You can click on the case number for the crime summary. Click on data for the rap sheet of the criminal.

Becoming a Neighborhood Crime Analyst involves using the crime data to understand the local trends and threats. Neighborhood Alerts are informal yet an effective way to collect and archive fragments of information.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:34 pm..

The Community Outreach Event that the Region 2 District Reps are putting on will be at 9027 Northgate Blvd. (On Northgate between, US 183 and Rundberg).

(click for larger)

The event will be for the entire community to come and meeting their neighbors, speak to the Austin Police Department about concerns they have in their area, and improve their relationship with the Officers and businesses that are located in their community. There will be an emphasis placed on some of the issues that currently affect the Northgate/Rundberg/Colony Creek area. There issues involve robbery, theft, burglary, and family violence. The Office of Community Liaison will be in attendance and assist with Spanish speakers and communication. There will also be area businesses such as All Smiles, Dental, Target, and H.E.B on hand to interact with the community. There will be activities for the children, such as an inflatable jumping moon walk and a clown. Food will be provided free of charge, thanks to H.E.B.