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 ([email protected]) 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] or [email protected]
 
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..