Neighbors have had enough

Enough is enough.

They might not have all the resources that money can buy, but the residents near Cler-Mont Elementary School in the Fort Osage School District are banding together in neighborhood watch efforts.

“Don’t give up,” said Tina Wyatt-Rockers, a Susquehanna-area resident who formed the Susquehanna Fort Osage Neighborhood Watch about a year ago. “It’s our neighborhood.”

During the first neighborhood watch meeting of the academic year Thursday night, Wyatt-Rockers said it’s been scary putting herself and her household of 13 family members on the line, but she’s willing to do whatever it takes to end neighborhood violence.

In early August, Wyatt-Rockers submitted a cell-phone video to local media outlets of a fight among teenagers. A similar fight took place on Tuesday at the elementary school’s park.

Officers responded within three to five minutes of a call, but the fight participants had already fled, which is common, according to Capt. Paul Thurman.

Since Aug. 1, the Independence Police Department has received reports of 40 incidents around Cler-Mont Elementary School and its park, Thurman said. The area remains a relatively low area in reported crimes, he said, with the majority of the city’s crimes taking place west of Sterling Avenue.

“That is the hot area right now,” he said. 

On any given evening, Thurman said, the city of Independence has 12 officers patrolling a city of more than 110,000 residents. Each call needs at least two officers reporting on scene, but that can vary depending on a crime’s severity, he said.

“First and foremost, we need to be alerted of what’s going on. You guys are definitely on the right track,” Thurman said. “It is a collaborative effort of several agencies on the city’s behalf.” 

Resident Richard Dillon said plenty of people are calling the police department and are receiving no response.

“Nobody cares about statistics when it’s happening to them and people two doors down,” Dillon said.

While Thurman agreed, he reiterated that the police department has limited resources.

Officers must first report to cases with top priority and those cases involve a crime against another person, Thurman said.

“The police department cannot solve every problem,” he said. “We cannot be at every problem.”

“I think a lot of people would like to hear the police department say, ‘There’s a problem here,’” Dillon replied, “and leave it at that.” 

The city of Independence in 2009 includes the same number of officers it did 30 years ago, according to city officials. District 2 City Council Member Will Swoffer said the city’s population has remained relatively steady since 1979, but crimes rates have continued to increase. (Swoffer’s district includes the Susquehanna area.)

“To increase personnel, you’ve got to increase the budget,” said Swoffer, briefly mentioning the recent failure of a sales tax initiative that would have funded additional police personnel.

“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and figure this out because crime is going up. We all know we’ve got to work on this situation as a community and a team, but we can’t do it without money.”

The Independence Police Department’s upper command staff has attended meetings all week on “how to steal from Peter and give to Paul,” Thurman said.

“We frankly do not have enough patrol officers on the street. We don’t,” he said. “We can always do better, and we’re always evaluating how to do better.”

Resident Tammy Perry offered kudos to police officers who responded when she called. Perry said she recently installed a video camera in her home to catch children in her yard and encouraged other residents “to take charge in their own home.”

“If you can’t do this on your own, find some help,” she said. “We can stand up and make an example in our homes. Fight that fight and don’t stop.”

Those residents who want to remain involved in neighborhood watch should stay involved to ensure due process, Swoffer said.

He also encouraged residents to participate in a police ride-along “because it makes you realize the dangers of their job.”  

“If everybody treated their neighbors as they wanted to be treated, we’d be safe,” Swoffer said, “but that doesn’t always happen.”

The next Susquehanna Fort Osage Neighborhood Watch meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Sept. 17 at Cler-Mont Elementary School, 19009 Susquehanna Ridge.