BEAT 1431 CAPS Meeting Minutes November 20th, 2014

BEAT 1431 CAPS

Meeting Minutes

November 20th, 2014

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 15th, 2015, 7:00pm at Haas Park Field House, 2402 N. Washtenaw.

Officers Present: SGT Giambrone, SGT Reyes, PO Komo, PO Soto, SGT Burgos, Liz Rios - 14th District CAPS organizer, Vicky Schmidt CAPS Beat 1431 Community Facilitator

Number of Beat 1431 residents present: 6

General Announcements

SGT Giambrone welcomed and introduced SGT Burgos to the 14th District. SGT Giambrone shared that Officer Burgos served as a CAPS Sergeant in Giambrone's former district and that he is a very knowledgeable and community minded officer. SGT Burgos reported that he is awaiting confirmation on his assigned sector within the 14th District, however, in the meantime, he offered his support to our Beat 1431.

Safety tips for the holiday season
The top crimes of our Beat continue to be theft related as we enter the holiday season. Liz Rios reminded everyone of the importance of not placing items in the trunks of cars in parking lots and then walking away from the vehicle to visit other shops. Criminals are watching people for this behavior so that they can break into the vehicles to steal them. Ms. Rios strongly urges people to place items in their cars and then immediately drive to their next destination, even if shopping at the same shopping center - drive to another part of the parking lot. 

SGT Reyes reported that people continue to park their vehicles leaving valuables inside that are attracting criminal break-ins. There were 11 thefts of this nature on Milwaukee Ave within the last 2 months in our Beat. Bicycles also remain a consistent target for theft in our Beat. SGT Reyes strongly urges residents to keep their bikes securely locked if they are outside and visible, even if they are on upper floors of buildings. SGT Reyes also urged bicycle owners to register their bike serial numbers with the city of Chicago. It makes it easier and more likely for police to return stolen bikes to their rightful owners.

For residents planning to leave their homes for a period of time during the holidays, SGT Reyes strongly recommends the use of motion detector lights on the outside of the property as well as electric timers that control lights, radios and tvs inside the property to promote the appearance of activity to deter burglars. Reyes also encourages contacting trusted neighbors to help take in mail and any packages left on doorsteps to minimize opportunities for theft. Lastly, consider sending packages ordered online to places of work vs. home addresses. SGT Reyes mentioned that criminals have been observed following delivery trucks (e.g. FedEx and UPS) to identify where packages are being left and then stealing them.

For a complete listing of crimes over time for Beat 1431 please visit ClearMap.

Thursday, December 4th at 6pm: 17th Annual Domestic Violence "Tree of Hope" Ceremony & Prayer Vigil
The 14th District Police will be hosting the 17th annual "Tree of Hope" ceremony and prayer vigil to remember victims who have died as a result of domestic violence and pray for those who are challenged by domestic violence in their homes. All are welcome to attend this event at the 14th District Police Station, 2150 N. California Ave., Thursday, December 4th, at 6pm 

14th District Christmas 2014 Toy Drive
There are many children this year for whom christmas will just be another day. Help bring joy to a child this holiday. Call the 14th District CAPS office, 312-744-1261, to donate new, unopened, unwrapped toys for children 14 years and under. The toy drive ends Wednesday, December 17th.

911 & 311 – How and when to use 911 and 311 services

Two representatives from the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) shared pertinent and helpful information regarding how and when citizens should call 911 for emergency services and 311 for city services.

Objective of the 911 call taker

During a 911 service call, the call takers need to understand the type of event being reported and the kind of help the citizen(s) needs in order to provide the appropriate service response. The call taker creates an event and if it requires emergency services, sends it to a dispatcher who communicates directly to the police. These events are prioritized based upon the following 3 general criteria (from highest to lowest):

1. Involving life threatening and/or major damage to property 
2. Immediate sense of danger is gone, however, citizen needs help to minimize further damage
3. General "disturbances" that do not require immediate police action, but will be responded to once other higher priority responses are addressed

Questions from the 911 call taker:

Call takers are aware that some of their questions may seem frustrating to citizens, however, they are extremely important for them to assess the type of help needed and to ensure the service providers are prepared to respond to the event. These questions involve the following:

1. Where the event is occurring – citizens should try to provide the exact address or 2 cross streets. If the event is occurring inside a property, additional details such as the floor number or apartment number are extremely helpful. 
2. Who is involved – descriptive individual information is very important to help police in particular identify suspects such as, gender, race, clothing, (going from top to bottom) as well as any weapons involved.
3. What is happening – details of the emergency situation in progress

It is important for citizens to know that these questions do not delay the response. Instead, they help to best prepare the parties responding to the event. Information also can be sent to dispatchers in real time to ensure timeliness of response.

Cellphone vs. Landline location details

Cell phone calls to 911 will most likely not provide your exact location, instead, they typically provide a location within a block radius of the nearest cellphone tower. Landlines will commonly provide address details, however, call takers must still confirm this location with the caller.

911 Emergency Services

Call 911 when a situation requires immediate police, fire or emergency medical response.

• Police Services: Crime in progress or one has just occurred
• Fire Services: to report a fire, a trapped person in need of rescue, and incidents with hazardous materials
• Emergency Medical Services: To report life threatening medical emergencies that require an ambulance

311 City Services

Call 311 to request city services and to report situations not requiring a police response.

These include general city service reports and non-emergency police services.

1. City Services: include problems or information regarding garbage collection, potholes, street lights, etc. special events and dates and locations for CAPS beat meetings.
2. Police Non-Emergency services: situations that do not pose an immediate threat to life, bodily injury or major property damage or loss such as:
1. Filing a police report
2. Or reporting a situation that doe not require an immediate police response such as:
1. Pick-pocketing
2. Auto theft
3. Or any other offense where the suspect is no longer at the crime scene

Remaining Anonymous

911 call takers share the names of citizens calling 911 when they need to speak with an officer. However, if the event is considered a general "disturbance" (e.g. barking dog, loud music, etc), it's not imperative that the name is shared with the officer. "Air time is precious", therefore, time is saved on the call by sharing only the pertinent information needed to address the situation.

There are incidences, however, that citizens may want to ensure anonymity when making these service calls. According to printed information prepared by the OEMC, 911 "are required to ask callers reporting gang and drug related incidents whether they would like to remain anonymous. As a result, the 911 dispatcher and the officer receiving the call do not see the callers name or address. Any person reporting a crime may inform the call taker that he/she wishes to remain anonymous.

While citizens who witness serious crimes have an obligation to come forward and cooperate with law enforcement authorities, it is the policy of the Chicago Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management and Communication to honor citizen requests to remain anonymous whenever possible."

1. Clearly state your request to remain anonymous to the 911 call taker
2. Your information will not  be available to the police dispatcher and not sent to police personnel assigned to investigate the incident
3. If you call 911 again with additional information, you must request to remain anonymous again, as another call-taker may take your call
4. Do not mistake basic police investigative techniques as ignoring your wish to remain anonymous. Police officers have a duty and an obligation to canvass crime scenes for potential witnesses. Without knowing you called and request to remain anonymous, police may knock on doors in the surrounding area attempting to locate potential witnesses.

More information can be requested from the OEMC website.

Court Advocacy Reports

Court advocates have been following cases regarding:

1. Los Recuerdos: There is a business affairs hearing December 9th at 9:15am at City Hall. Los Recuerdos (just East of our Beat at 2315 W. Fullerton Ave), is currently voluntarily closed as a result of a second incident of gang related gun violence. There is also an ongoing criminal case against the shooter in the most recent offense, Victor Torres, that Court Advocates are also pursuing. The next court date is January 7th, 2015.
2. The 2011 New Year's Eve rape at Congress Theater: The court case for Charles Chuning is scheduled for December. 
3. There is a January 2015 hearing set for Anthony Jones, a notorious criminal in our Beat, who is facing charges of robbery, criminal sexual assault and resisting arrest.

Please call the 14th District CAPS office, 312-744-1261 for more information regarding these important dates.

Section Reports

SECTION 1 (Borders: California, Milwaukee, Armitage)

1) Residents in this section have reported ongoing issues with loud, disruptive noise during the late evening and early morning hours from the back patio of the restaurant, Table, Donkey and Stick at 2728 W. Armitage Ave. It was reported that the restaurant has a license to sell alcohol within their outside back patio until 11pm during weekdays and Midnight on weekends. However, residents are being disturbed by noise beyond these hours, sometimes as late as 1:30am. Some residents believe the noise might also be from employees using the back patio of the restaurant after it has closed. The noise is reportedly worse on the weekends. Despite efforts made by residents calling the restaurant directly to address the noise, it remains a continuing problem. SGT Giambrone mentioned that officers will followup with the restaurant to address these issues.

action: Residents are urged to continue calling 911 to report any gang and criminal activity.

SECTION 2 (Borders: Rockwell, Lyndale, Western, Milwaukee)

1) Congress Pizza – There were no representatives of Congress Pizza in attendance at the CAPS meeting. This is the second Beat 1431 CAPS meeting that representatives from Congress Pizza have not attended, despite it being a city ordinance requirement. SGT Giambrone reported that Congress Pizza received a city order within the last month to retain the retired police officer they have been employing to lead their security efforts. SGT Giambrone also mentioned that since the last Beat meeting he was not aware of any 911 calls for fights, drug dealing or other criminal activity that Congress Pizza has been challenged by in the past. There is also a court order dictating that Congress Pizza cannot open their back door to the alley unless they are receiving shipments of food. Delivery drivers cannot park in the alley or use these alley doors to pickup pizzas for delivery. Residents are encouraged to call 911 if they observe any violations to these rules.
2) Congress Theater – Shortly before Halloween, police officers discovered an illegal party occurring inside Congress Theater. An apartment renter in the building managed to get keys to one of the street level storefronts in the building located on the Rockwell corner of the building. There are currently no valid business licenses for the Congress Theater storefronts and the renter was cited for illegally using this particular storefront and charging $5 for entry to the party. SGT Giambrone notified the city business affairs department of this activity, and the liquor commissioner promptly contacted the lawyer of Congress Theater to address this violation. SGT Giambrone praised the residents near Congress Theater and the business affairs department for their vigilance in recognizing and addressing this illegal activity at Congress Theater.
3) Representatives from Concord Music Hall were in attendance and had no significant issues to report. SGT Giambrone remarked positively that Concord Music Hall has been maintaining legal and responsible business practices.
4) SGT Reyes reported that he responded to an incident of graffiti on the 2500 block of N. Palmer.

action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report illegal parking and any illegal patron or employee behavior at businesses along Milwaukee Ave.

SECTION 3 (Borders: Rockwell, Fullerton, Western, Lyndale)

1) Los Recuerdos has voluntarily closed their business and has an upcoming Chicago Business Affairs hearing December 9th. Residents interested in this hearing are encouraged to attend (see above under Court Advocacy)

2) An incident of female sexual harassment reportedly occurred on Western Ave. SGT Reyes requested that the individual who received this harassment call the police to help validate the identity of the offender. 
3) CAPS Community Facilitator, Vicky Schmidt, shared an email she received from a resident who reportedly witnessed a drug deal at Maplewood and Lyndale in early November. This resident called 911 and provided the license plate of the vehicle involved. There was no further detail available about this incident or information from the police.

action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report gang activity and 311 for graffiti.

SECTION 4 (Borders: California, Fullerton, Rockwell, Milwaukee)

1) SGT Reyes reported that the "Kiss & Go" program in place for parents dropping their children off at Goethe Elementary on Rockwell St. is working well based upon his most recent visit. Alderman Moreno's office is still pursuing traffic studies around the school assessing traffic flow and safety. There remain issues with illegal parking and driving practices on streets surrounding the school. SGT Reyes and officers are trying to rotate their police presence to help improve these practices, issuing citations as necessary.
It is also still unknown whether the school has been able to recruit "parent patrols" to help direct traffic, especially on the bordering streets of Rockwell St. and Talman Ave.
2) A Talman and Lyndale corner street and stop sign has been knocked down for a week and a tow zone sign has also been removed remains missing. Residents have reported this via 311 City Services.

action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report illegal parking and other criminal
activity and 311 for graffiti.

SECTION 5 (Borders: California, Logan Boulevard, Rockwell, Fullerton)

There were no issues reported in this section.

action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report gang activity and 311 for graffiti.

SECTION 6 (Borders: Rockwell, Logan Boulevard, Western, Fullerton)

1) CAPS Community Facilitator, Vicky Schmidt, reported that the care taking son of the elderly woman residing on the 2400 block of Campbell has died. Community members have shared their concern for this woman who has been reportedly wandering the area and requesting rides from strangers. She has received help from Police and Fire Dept. services, and is hopefully getting the care she needs, especially now with the loss of her son. There was no further information regarding her situation.
action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report gang activity and 311 for graffiti.

Recurring Problem Areas for BEAT 1431

1) Graffiti
2) Loitering / problems with Congress Pizza and Congress Theater on Milwaukee Ave.
3) Gang and drug activity
4) GGNA Elementary School illegal driving and parking practices

DISCLAIMER

Beat 1431 CAPS volunteers prepared these meeting minutes to the best of their ability.