Lt. Gordon Ramsay talking to neighbors at the Central Hillside Community Center.
A Central Hillside resident asks a question.
Lt. Gordon Ramsay told a group of about 50 neighbors at the Central Hillside Community Center that police and residents will now meet monthly for the next few months. The purpose of the meeting was to see how the police and residents can work together on crime and safety issues in the neighborhood.
Ramsay will also work to implement block clubs. Neighbors would meet with the police to identify problems in their specific blocks. Each block might have unique issues. Junk cars might be an issue for one block, while a gang of rough kids would be an issue for a different block. Police would literally walk around the neighborhood with the residents to identify these concerns.
The block clubs give a formal identity. “It gives a block a little more power with city government,” said Ramsay. Other issues of concern might be lighting, streets, and parking. Block clubs would go beyond just dealing with crime after the fact. It would be taking a proactive stance.
Ramsey told the Central Hillside group that the burglar who was responsible for approximately 30 to 40 robberies this summer, many of them while residents were home, had been arrested and was now in jail.
Central Hillside is constantly fighting an image that it is dangerous, but it is not said Ramsey. He said it is more densely populated and therefore there are more calls of disturbances of the peace. Nationwide robberies were high this summer; Duluth was no different.
As far as personal safety goes, the Central Hillside is no more dangerous than other neighorhood as densely populated. Most violent crime is between people who know each other.
According to Ramsey, James Redd, owner of the Hip Hop Candy Shop, 105 W. 4th St., where shots were fired in October, has closed up his shop and left town. Ramsey said Redd was charged with drug sales and there is a warrant out for his arrest.” We were pleased to see him go, but we would like to find him . . .(and serve the warrant,)” said Ramsay.
“Don’t ever hesitate to call 911,” said Ramsay. “We’d rather find out it is a neighbor house-sitting. …(than something more serious.)” Ramsey said phone calls of suspicious activity are how the police solve crimes, which was the case in catching the burglar responsible for 30 to 40 incidents this summer.
The police are trying to work more closely with the building inspection department and landlords to prevent nuisance properties. Police are working with landlords to help them learn to how do background checks. This is available free of charge through St. Louis County.
Ramsay said a small group is causing problems for the majority of people. Between 5,000 and 10,000 people live in the Central Hillside; and 20,000 work in the Central Hillside. “Our problem people are the same 50 people.” He said that Central Hillside cops get to know these people so well that they know their full names, social security numbers and birth date. The problem is the judicial system puts these people back out on the streets making a revolving door. Criminals are cited and arrested but the consequences are not serious enough to prevent people from committing the crime again. Neighbors who show up at sentences and read victim impact statements are helping to put criminals behind bars.
Next month George Garnett of Neighborhood Housing Services will speak about what the Lincoln Park Neighborhood is doing to crack down on abandoned houses, illegal garbage dumping, and crime and drug activity.Hopefully the Central Hillside neighborhood can learn from Lincoln Park.
