River North Residents Association Committee Meeting
Titan attended the River North Residents Association (RNRAPS) Committee Meeting recently and wanted to pass along the following information:
ICAMS/Clear Map Crime Data
There are three types of crime data collection that were mentioned in the meeting. They are as follows:
- Detective Patterns, which are individual crimes taking place throughout the area
- Impact Zones: trending crimes that have been occurring more recently (burglaries within a certain block/neighborhood)
- Macro Patterns: long-term trends- burglaries that continue to increase within a given block/neighborhood
Officer Rodriguez from North Side -Watch 41- Neighborhood Watch, discussed how residents have made Facebook pages for their neighborhood, and have messages pop up when a crime has been committed.
- Residents have decided to take a stand against crimes being committed in their neighborhood, so upon receiving these messages via Facebook, they have been participating in “positive loitering” in hopes of deterring crime.
Crime Reduction Focused Groups
- Theft is a getaway crime to more serious offenses
The goal of the Crime Reduction Focused Groups is to educate and engage in crime reduction programs, which will stress the importance of victims/witnesses of crime not making it easy for the “bad guy”– a good example of this is the info. booths at Whole Foods. This focus group surveyed 3,000 people to get a better understanding of the issues the general public has in regards to security issues, as well as public safety concerns.
Court Advocacy
It was suggested by Committee Member, Mickie Gordon, that Court Advocacy could be a very proactive way to engage residents throughout the city, along with processes from the CPD.
Ward Park Dog Issues
There are two categories of pressing issues occurring in Ward Park that were brought to our attention during the meeting. The two issues are as follows:
- Dogs in Ward Park
- While there are signs posted to prohibit dogs from being within the park, there have been complaints that the sign is not enough, as dogs have still been in the park recently.
- There are residents who feel strongly about not having dogs in the park, and residents who continually bring their dogs to the park.
- This has been an issue in which feedback has been received and residents are asking for enforcement. The RNRA has sent out a request to Alderman Reilly’s office to provide guidance on how to handle the situation.
- Dog Friendly Area Incident
- A dog attack occurred in July, resulting in serious injuries, and has worried residents about the chance of an attack occurring with their pets.
- The RNRA has suggested a write-up incident report for dog attacks which will direct residents to contact 911 and complete a “Bite Report”.
Hospitality Issues
- The pink Taco has not yet applied for their liquor license
- Concrete Cowboy has displayed positive actions to make changes and their court date was on August 28, 2017
- Bottled Blonde had their hearing this past week on September 5, 2017 in the City Hall
- Alderman Reilly is holding hospitality accountable for litter outside of business areas