Comments on: No Snitch Rule Hampering Police Investigation

By: Boggie

Boggie — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:09:27 +0000

Some great intentions and certainly community involvment is the direction we want to head. As we become more connected are we really disconnecting.
Calling out the national gurad is never the answer. The G.A.s wont float becuase of several reasons, one being its not a good selling point for developers and Sliwa has already irked the, er underground powers that be.
Taking back our community is no easy task. But patrols are only one piece of the puzzle. We have to bring back values, give people hope and a vision and a fair share. Other wise we might as well put up blast walls and seal the areas off just like Isreal is doing to the Palestinians. Make em tunnel out to get food and waater for their familes. Its a MAD MAD MAD MAD MAD MAD MAD MAD world we live in.

By: parklover

parklover — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 21:48:40 +0000

Well said, Al. Keep up the good work, despite your setbacks.
The truth is, anybody who cares about fixing Norwalk gets used to setbacks, and gets used to hearing a big NO WAY from city hall. You know what I mean…

By: OLD TIMER

OLD TIMER — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 21:19:30 +0000

If the police reached out to neighborhood leaders and recruited a few people they recommended to cruise their own neighborhoods in marked police cars, after a brief orientation, with clear limits on what was expected, the increased visibility and additional eyes and ears on the street, could be a very good thing for the bighborhoods, and for the police.

By: Al Raymond

Al Raymond — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:33:50 +0000

First of all I`am not rich , white yes . and all I really want to see is everyone getting along and Norwalk be the best place to live and raise a family. Quailty of life is number one on my list. I `am almost 60 years young lived in Norwalk all my life and I love Norwalk and the PEOPLE that live here I don`t care who you are or what you do or what race you are FIRST you are a HUMAN . And I feel like if we all work towards one common goal , then Norwalk will be that great place once again. PEACE BE WITH YOU ALL .

By: Sam Spade

Sam Spade — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:38:34 +0000

Al your heart is in the right place but you were counting on the wrong people to help. Forget the Guardian Angels here. You have to work with people inside Roodner Court. Do you think they want to listen to a rich white guy telling them what to do? Find some young black kid that comes from Roodner and help him.

By: Al Raymond

Al Raymond — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:33:11 +0000

Goodmorning too you all. I was just reading some of the comments made about the Guardian Angles. My name is Al Raymond Iam the point person trying to form a chapter here in Norwalk. We have been working on this for years and there are a couple of problems, First the Mayor and police chief did not want anything to do with the G.A. Well we thought we would try anyway , thier were some Angles that came down from New Haven to try and help get organized but then we were met by gangs on housing property and we were told we could not go on to there property. The other big problem is getting the people to come out and get involved . Myself and several woman that care very much about Norwalk went out and tryed very hard to get ” everyone ” involved . Well all the people that we talked to said yes that the G.A. was a great thing but still to this day I think we had three people that came forward and wanted too help.How sad is that, Norwalk has upperwards of 85000.00 people and everyone just sits there and lets these things happen if you don`t do something about the problems they will only get worst. The Guardian Angles are (US) we are neighborhood watch groups we just need for a lot more people to get involved because if we want to take back our neighborhood from the gangs it will take everyone . Listen I could go on and on but what good would that do all I`am saying is if you want Norwalk to be a great place to live GET INVOLVED don`t think about it do it if you wait for someone else to do it , it will not get done. Have a HAPPY DAY.

By: OLD TIMER

OLD TIMER — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:39:44 +0000

Look at Newark, they had terrible problems. Many of their problems yielded to recent efforts under Mayor Corey Booker. Crime rates dropped 21% in three years. They hired 234 new officers and started several new programs. The citizens of Newark support their police now that they see results. People need to have some faith in the police before they will volunteer information about violent criminals. Police officers need to be seen as trusted neighbors, not as occupying mercenaries from somewhere else. Even in bigger cities, local precincts work hard to develop close neighbor relationships. It will take a lot to get past the apathy, and the fear, in our most affected neighborhoods. Community officers are a step in the right direction, but we need more of them.

By: Apathetic Voter

Apathetic Voter — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:15:46 +0000

Well, then there is nothing that the police force is going to be able to do unless this segment of the community decides to stand up for itself. They can’t force people to snitch, after all. But this is the same thing that we’ve seen take place all over the US, in NYC, in LA, in New Orleans – everywhere. The gangs have managed to move in because this segment of the community has allowed themselves to be intimidated. And when they finally get fed up enough with the situation, then – and only then – will members of these affected neighborhoods begin to say “Enough!” and band together to work to shove the gangs out. What these citizens have forgotten is that there are more of them than there are of the gangs. And when they remember this fact, that’s when the rest of Norwalk will see the affected communities take some action against the gangs. But as long as they allow themselves to be intimidated, it’s the gangs who are running things, and not the other way around.

By: OLD TIMER

OLD TIMER — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:12:52 +0000

There is only one thing preventing the guardians from establishing a local chapter and initiating regular patrols, apathy. Guardians do not supply a bunch of people to man local chapters and do local patrols. They help get local chapters organised and help with public relations. If anyone in norwalk could assemble a group of local people who were willing to do the unpaid volunteer work with all the risks, the guardians would come back, with a few people to help get a local chapter up and running, just about anytime. Official support is not required, but opposition makes recruiting very difficult. Finding locals who think that would be a good idea is not difficult. Finding locals willing to take on the job, despite the gangs and the attitude of local officials, turned out to be impossible.
Many communities supplement the visibility of local law enforcement with patrols by unpaid volunteers, frequently retireees, using marked police vehicles. These volunteers have no police powers, are generally not armed, but have direct radio communication with police dispatchers and have shown remarkable crime prevention results.
Norwalk used to have auxiliary police who supplemented the regular force.
Depending on who you ask, there are several stories about why they no longer have auxiliary police, and many opinions on their value/effectiveness.

By: turfgrrl

turfgrrl — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:34:38 +0000

NorwalkSpectator: Yes I think you recalled correctly what transpired with the Guardian Angels. It is impreative that no matter what, the residents in the crime hots spots have to turn the corner and decide they too want to improve things.