Neighborhood Watch
by Tim McCarthy
Crime is not a police
problem; it’s a community
problem. This was true 15
years ago, before the ex
tensive cutbacks in all
sectors of society, and its
validity has only grown since
then. We’ve got 141 officers
responding to calls in this
community, which breaks
down to between six and
eighteen officers available at
3 any one time. We’ve got one
of the lowest police/citizen
ratios in the United States:
1.32 per 1000. Last year, a
home or business was
burglarized, on the average,
once every five hours in
Eugene; property loss or
damage due to criminal
activity cost us over five
million dollars - half of that
from burglaries. Eighty-eight
percent of this was never
recovered, and the recovery
rate for burglaries alone was
even worse.
The 911 system has
helped, reducing emergency
response time an average of
two minutes per call, which
is frequently the difference
between life and death. But
nonemergency calls now
wait an average of 3-4 hours
longer than they did a half
dozen years ago. What this
Illustrates is that we have
been obliged to focus on
emergency responses while
neglecting
the
non
emergency, service-oriented
"A person just don't have a chance anymore"
end of the spectrum. You
can get a better picture of
the scope of the problem
when you consider that our
communications
center
handles about 1000 calls a
day, of which about. 300
require a response, whether
it be In the form of a written
report or a tactical team. As
the calls come in, they’re
prioritized based on the
degree of threat to life and
property. Nonemergency
calls naturally fall to the
bottom of the list.
Fifteen years ago, Eugene
officers had an average of
three hours of unobligated
time per shift. This was time
available not only for basic
lunch and coffee breaks, but
for more interaction in the
community. A follow-up
study in 1985 shows that
other than for lunch, we no
longer have any truly
unobligated time.
What this means is that
the burden has shifted to the
citizenry. You are our eyes
and ears. The more we work
together, the better we can
serve you. And the more
watchful you are over your
own neighborhood, the safer
we will all be.
in a way, all this means is
that we need to return to the
degree or awareness of each
other seen in very small
communities thirty, fifty, a
hundred years ago. We are
by no means promoting
vigilante action, but we are
strongly supporting this
neighborly
community’s
participation in promoting its
own safety.
The neighborliness we
encourage can take the form
of Neighborhood Watch.
This does not involve taking
up arms, patrolling on your
own, or returning to the days
of the Old West. Instead, it
refers to an emphasis on
preparation, awareness, and
cooperation embodied in
three important basic steps:
•Make a commitment to
working with your neighbors
to watch over each other.
This includes mowing the
lawn and picking up the
for
a
newspapers
vacationing neighbor, or
reporting a prowler in the
yard next door. No one
knows your neighborhood
better than you - except
perhaps for the 15-25 year
olds who also live in your
area. Seventy-one percent of
burglars are under 25 years
of age, and live within blocks
of their victims.
•Target hardening. Don’t
make it easy for burglars to
gain entry. Forty-four per
cent of our burglaries last
year involved no force at all -
burglars were able to walk
right in, through an unlocked
door or window. Unsecured
garage doors were the most
popular point of entry. Better
locks, lighting, and other
security measures will deter
the average burglar.
•Mark your property. We
have engravers to loan you,
free of charge, for this
Your
purpose. Your driver's
license number is the
identifying number we
recommend. Put the number
somewhere highly visible; a
burglar with any intelligence
at all will not take marked
property - it’s much more
difficult to pawn, and it
raises the likelihood of the
burglar's arrest.
The Community Affairs
Division now has, for the first
time in a number of years, a
Community
Service
Specialist available to help
you coordinate your own
Watch.
Neighborhood
There's a lot of flexibility in
how you organize - in fact,
it’s entirely up to you. We
just want to see it happen!
So give us a call and let us
help you get started.
How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down On The Farm,
Now That They’ve Seen Eugene?
The Problem:
For almost half a century,
young people have been
“cruising” in Eugene. This
social ritual has survived
despite the long-standing
irritation of nearby residents,
who take no pleasure in the
weekly deposits of broken
glass, exhibitions of in
considerate and/or criminal
behavior, or endless, noisy
traffic jams. For 50 years
residents have grumbled,
wondering “who are those
guys?” and “what are they
doing there?”
A study in the early 1980s
indicated that over half the
cruisers were from the small
farm towns outside of
Eugene. A significant
segment of the drivers are
over 18 years of age. They
come to the big city in
search of fun, excitement -
and
all
the glamour
associated
with
South
Willamette Street on a
Saturday night.
Background:
Cruising has been a Friday
and Saturday night activity
involving most of Willamette
Street since the 1940s. After
the downtown mall was built
in the mid-1960s, cruising
confined itself to a com
mercial area on the same
street about 15 blocks to the
south of the mall. The area
surrounding the commercial
however,
is
blocks,
residential.
The “Gut,” as this cruising
area is known in Eugene, is
adjacent to three of the city's
23 recognized neighborhood
groups. In 1977 a task force
was formed which included
representatives from the
adjacent neighborhoods.
This evolved into the “Gut”
Task Force in 1982 ad
dressing the adverse effects
of the cruising on the
surrounding neighborhoods.
The task force developed
and monitored an annual
action plan to promote
responsible cruiser behavior.
Over the last ten years the
City has implemented many
task force recommendations
on traffic flow, lighting, and
community education to
help lessen the problem. In
addition, residents have
participated in ride-alongs
with police officers to gain
an understanding of the
problems inherent in pa
trolling the area.
The task force reviewed
police statistics on arrests
and citations on the “Gut.”
This data showed that from
January 1981
through
October 1983, 53% of the
citations were issued to
cruisers who live in small,
rural communities outside
Eugene. During 1984 and
1985 the task force increased
its educational efforts to
include those communities.
The task force also com
pleted the following
projects:
1. Set up a tent in a
parking lot on the “Gut” on a
Saturday night in 1983 and
surveyed the “Gut” cruisers.
2. Other cities of similar
size were contacted about
their cruising problems.
3. Published the "Gut
Cruisers’ Guide” and dis
It
tributed
to
area
businesses, all high schools
In Eugene and surrounding
communities, community
centers, and youth-related
agencies.
4. Sponsored a “Gut”
pride poster contest. The
winning posters
were
distributed to schools and
businesses.
5. “Gut Report Forms”
were printed, distributed to
businesses and published in
neighborhood newsletters.
6. Public
service
an
nouncements concerning
litter, “Gut” etiquette, etc.,
were aired on local television
channels.
7. News releases pro
moting responsible behavior
on the “Gut” have been
distributed regularly to local
newspapers (including high
school newspapers) and
radio stations.
None of these projects
have resolved the problem.
Citizens continue to com
plain about the cruising and
want action.
Current Situation:
In July 1986 the Crime
Action Task Force was
formed to study numerous
public safety problems. The
“Gut” Task Force was dis
banded and replaced by the
CATF Subcommittee on
Nuisances. The final report
prepared by the Crime Ac
tion Task Force was issued
in February 1987 and in
cluded a recommendation to
put more emphasis on en
forcement and patrol of the
“Gut." CATF also recom
mended the formation of an
ongoing advisory group on
public safety and the Public
Safety Advisory Committee
was appointed in June 1987.
At the first meeting of PSAC
on July 23, 1987, it was
agreed that the “Gut” would
be part of their work plan.
Complaints from residents
adjacent to the cruising area
Increased during the sum
mer of 1986 and again as
warm weather approached in
spring 1987. Some traffic
engineering changes have
been made since May, in
cluding NO LEFT TURN
signs for northbound traffic
north of 27th and extending
the time allowed to make left
turns for southbound traffic
at Willamette and 29th.
Although these traffic
changes have provided some
relief, the cruising has
continued to impact the
entire
residential
surrounding
Some
area.
further traffic engineering
changes are currently under
study and PFES staff are
researching
no-cruising
ordinances in other com
munities.
Latest Developments
At least on the surface,
anti-cruising
Portland’s
ordinance has been very
effective. Their ordinance
allows officers to cite
motorists for cruising, and
for second offenses the
same day, vehicles can be
towed. The driver would then
have to pay both a fine and a
towing charge. As soon as
the word went out regarding
these penalties, the cruisers
dispersed. It remains to be
seen where they will resettle.
Here in Eugene, an en
terprising young cruiser has
organized his own action: On
September 11, he passed out
flyers encouraging the
cruisers to move from
Willamette Street to West
11th. Reportedly, this has
had a significant impact on
the gut problem, by shift
ing some of the cruising to
West 11th. By the tall end of
the rainy season, we should
have a good idea as to
whether we need an or
dinance, whether the gut has
split into two cruising
problems, or whether the
problem’s been resolved
without government in
tervention at all.
"Background" and "Current
Situation" seaions of this report
have been directly derived from
a City Manager's Office Report.
~The Editor