Has that gunman got your attention? It certainly would mine if some guy in a lime green shirt pulled a big ol' monster mean gun on me! I'm not even sure I'd notice the lime green shirt once I saw the gun!
Our St. Paul neighborhood is usually pretty quiet. Monthly the St. Paul police report any crime to our block club meeting. Quite quickly we hear about the comings and goings of the riff raff, or the lack thereof, in our neighborhood. In the three plus years since we left the supposed safety of the 'burbs, my stereotypes of the dangerous city have been demolished. Yes, there is crime. Yes, there are bad guys. BUT, there was crime and there were bad guys in the 'burbs, too. A murder was committed 4 blocks from my former suburban home. Our home was personally broken into twice in the last 8 years we were there. Running cars had been stolen from the neighbor's driveway 2 houses away, etc. The difference was the neighbors neither noticed or called police if they did. There was no sense of community watch.
My stereotype of St. Paul inner city living was that there would be all that AND more. My stereotypes were wrong. Our neighborhood has had only 3 break-ins since our move and one scam artist making the rounds . . . until last month. Suddenly, 3 of our neighbors had break-ins in a two day period. Guess what day! New Year's Eve. None of the perpetrators were apprehended, but our neighborhood is on notice. We stand together against crime and we call when someone suspicious is lurking about. We know our neighbors, their visitors, and extended family. We look out for one another and aren't afraid to take action. If you're drunk and hit a parked car, the license plate will be recorded and in some cases a picture taken! 9-1-1 is on speed dial around here.
Whether the New Year's Eve spree was encouraged by liquid courage or Christmas bill desperation, our area is on alert. At the block club, the new pregnant resident met the neighbors. She also found out who to call for help. We all learned what had happened and that we need to step up our already stiff neighborhood policy for no tolerance of wrong doing.
Besides the neighborhood information and networking done at our last block club meeting, we also learned valuable free resources for St. Paul residents. One of the District 7 employees informed us that the St. Paul police department has a "free premise survey". The premise survey is a review of a St. Paul residence for ways to improve the home's safety from intrusion. It is done by a police reserve officer and includes examination of doors, locks, windows, shrubbery, and other things that tempt intruders to choose one St. Paul home over another. Since many thieves are truly opportunists, taking the opportunity away lessens the risk.
To schedule a premise survey for your St. Paul home, call 651-558-2350. To keep the crooks out, call 911!
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