Description
Today between 5 and 8 pm there was at least one squad car sitting in the parking lot across the street from my house. During that time frame somewhere half a dozen and a dozen cars/ bikers/ kids on motorbikes sped past them one Winthrop Ave. The speeders were noticed by the cops who would hit the siren every time, but the cops did nothing. No one was followed, no one was stopped, they just sat there and kept hitting that siren every 10 or 20 mins. Not only are people driving dangerously, but this was really frustrating to observe! This lack of action gave the impression that those officers are lazy or unconcerned - either way that's unacceptable considering we pay their salaries with our taxes. As if this wasn't upsetting enough - the constant blaring of their siren ruined an otherwise beautiful spring evening. Did anyone else hear/ notice this?
15 Comments
Jeff (Guest)
Kathleen (Guest)
emilyg (Guest)
Anonymous (Guest)
RevKev (Registered User)
I agree with Emily. I also noticed the cop sitting on the church parking lot when I got home. I also noticed a car run the red but the cop didn't move. I understand that the intent is to have a presence in what has turned into a pretty hot area. But if you're going to be there then DO something. We are angered by the shootings in our hood but we've only had a couple of those. Quality of life offenses happen almost constantly and it is creating an atmosphere of lawlessness.
West River is NOT a bad neighborhood. It is a typical neighborhood with a few people doing bad things. There are a bunch of us in the neighborhood who are trying to do GOOD things. More importantly, we are doing them together. There are more of us than there are of them and I am convinced that those of us doing GOOD things are going to win out. We are a strong community of strong individuals with a singular goal... to live together in peace. Together we are "building a green neighborhood of caring and peace."
And so it is right for Emily to be upset that her peace was disturbed. It is right that her issue is not just about the very real dangers presented by the recent shootings (happening doors from her house) but with the handling of seemingly insignificant speeding cars. To us they are equally destroying the 'spirit' of our little community. We see them as cut from the same cloth and deserving of equal attention. And we will accept nothing less.
We stand ready to do our part. Join us. info@westrivernsc.org
Kevin
Gadfly (Guest)
Don't forget although we don't live in each others neighborhoods, we do from time to time travel to the other sections of the City. So, although I live in Beaver Hills, I frequently drive through the West River neighborhood on my way to the train station down George for example. Speeding or running a red light could could affect me regardless of where I live. We need to not only unite as neighborhood but also as a community and let our voices be heard to our Alderperson, Chief of Police and possibly the Mayor about these concerns.
I stand..for a United New Haven!
Eddie (Guest)
A few years ago there were some pretty serious concerns that police chases that originated with relatively minor violations were creating real safety hazards, with danger to the officers involved, the suspect and the public. The department instituted some sort of "no-chase" policy.
I'm not sure exactly what it says, but I've heard rank-and-file cops grumble about it. They're clearly @#$% off, and some seem to be taking it to mean not only should they not get involved in wild car chases, but that they shouldn't bother to pursue -- or should simply ignore -- offenders in motor vehicles.
J (Registered User)
But by not enforcing the law, law enforcement communicates that it is uninterested in enforcing the law; its authority is weakened by that very fact.
I have lived in other cities and "bad neighborhoods" (or good neighborhoods with bad apples or whatever) but never til coming to New Haven have I seen such a laissez-faire attitude toward traffic enforcement, much less such flagrant violation of traffic laws. If you'll recall, Chief Lewis was publicly appalled at the latter same upon his arrival, and probably [less publicly] equally appalled at the former.)
But reckless driving like this conforms to chief tenet of "culture" here in New Haven and its corollary: 1) if I can get away with it, I should do it. 2) whenever possible, I should blame someone else.
Kathleen (Guest)
Gee, is that all it took to solve all the problems in New Haven, we'll see!
christopher schaefer (Guest)
We have the exact same problem in our neighborhood which you are discussing here. A solution which I have proposed is...Well, check the issue cited above, and if you agree, please click "I want this fixed too!" at the top of the page. It's a solution that's been discussed and asked for many times in the past. [There was a glitch in posting the photos, so FIRST look at the 3rd post with photo, then scroll up to see the other two.]
Let's see how the city responds this time. Thanks!
Closed Anonymous (Guest)
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Registered User)
I think you should request the data on the number of tickets given out in this area, as well as what they were given out for.
Neighborhood-level enforcement data was a principal request of the New Haven Safe Streets Petition, but it has not been uniformly shared or tracked in all neighborhoods. For a while, the NHPD was being pretty good about giving it out in Dixwell and Westville each month.
If the neighborhood monitors enforcement activity and types of crimes enforced, it can help advocate for better quality of life.
If nobody pays attention to this, honestly it is not surprising that police cars would be sitting out and apparently not doing anything.
I hope the enforcement tracking can be better institutionalized going forward but for now, neighborhood requests about speeding are needed to keep up the focus on this type of violent behavior.
Reopened Vijay (Guest)
Don't close an issue that is still an issue.
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Registered User)
Has there been any progress on this? I was just at a meeting with Chief Limon and the Asst Chiefs, and they said if you have any problems like this, just contact them and they'll fix it.
Although we still need the neighborhood level data to prove that enforcement is happening in areas where it is most needed, and not just around downtown, the statistics say the police are giving out a lot of tickets each month.
Closed emilyjeangallagher@gmail.com (Registered User)