August 22, 2012
®‘!* |3ortlanh (Obstruer Diversity Special Edition
Page 21
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A phone that once provided a discreet link between drug dealers and customers has been removed
from a sidewalk bordering the PCC Cascade Campus.
Crime Fight
decided it w as tim e to do som ething
about the w all. T he college installed
and m ore w elco m in g n e ig h b o r a w rought-iron fence along its edge
h ood,” G atew ood said. “The really to transform the wall from a spot to
w onderful thing about this is that sit and hang out to a place w here it
m uch o f our progress has com e from w as im possible to sit at all. The
sim ply getting to know one another notorious pay phone w as also re
better, m eeting regularly, sharing m oved, and alm ost overnight, “The
inform ation, and ju s t know ing that W all” ceased to be a problem .
But the com m ission’s w ork really
w e all have each o th e r’s back.”
The com m ission started out by took o ff a year earlier after a conver
com ing up with com m on-sense ap sation betw een G atew ood and Port
proaches to the neighborhood’s crime land Police North Precinct Commander
troubles. For exam ple, they increased M ike Leloff. Im pressed w ith the
the num ber of surveillance cam eras com m ission’s efforts, Leloff decided
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 3
At first we were spending time
dealing with burglaries and assaults.
Now we’re talking about safe
pedestrian crossings. That’s progress.
- Sgt. Mark Friedman, head of the street crime unit
along the cam pus’ perim eter, and
expanded this netw ork to include new
cam eras on com m ercial buildings
along K illingsw orth. PC C Public
Safety officers regularly share ac
cess to the cam era netw ork with the
police bureau, and the surveillance
footage has led directly to the appre
hension o f suspects.
A n o th e r e x a m p le o f th e
com m ission’s w ork was “The W all,”
an old concrete foundation along
N orth M ississippi Street and adja
cent to a cam pus parking lot. T he
w all w as a notorious hangout and
m agnet for loitering, and a spot where
drugs w ere frequently bought and
sold. A public pay phone nearby
provided a discreet link betw een
dealers and custom ers.
E arlier this year, the com m ission
to step up the police bureau’s com
mitment to the neighborhood. A dedi
cated street crim e unit was created,
an d hit the streets in late 2011.
The new unit quickly m ade its
presence felt, and let it be know n that
they w eren’t going anyw here. The
first priority was “probable cause”
arrests targeted at problem behav
iors like public drunkenness and m i
nors in possession o f alcohol. Later,
as the unit becam e a m ore fam iliar
presence and the problem behaviors
began to abate, enforcem ent took a
back seat to efforts to establish and
m aintain relationships and partner
ships with the com m unity.
“ A t first w e w ere spending tim e
d e alin g w ith b u rg la rie s and a s
saults,” said Sgt. M ark Friedm an,
head o f the street crim e unit. “ N ow
w e ’re talking about safe pedestrian
crossings. T h a t’s p rogress.”
G oing forward, the com m ission
and the police bureau are focusing on
broadening and strengthening the
relationships that have developed in
the neighborhood, and continuing
the area’s collaborative approach.
“Coming together as a community
has improved our quality o f life,”
Gatewood said. “This is a warmer and
more welcoming neighborhood, and 1
couldn’t be more proud.”
A C W illia m s 111
PRODUCT SPECIALIST
22555 SE Stark St
GRESHAM, OR 97030
(503) 665-2166
FAX (503) 667-6026
CELL (503) 890-6200
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AC.WILLIAMS@BUYWESTON.COM
Abe Proctor is the community re
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Portland, Or 97227
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