Reviewing the Blue

Ostensibly, Chief Lewis has plenty to smile about - in the first nine months of 2009 crime is down 12%; the chief was lauded by national news in September for his handling of the Annie Le case; and internally he's garnered respect for reestablishing the integrity of the department - but are there true quality of life issues still being ignored?

The latest issue of the Blue Review is now available online. Inside the report, Chief Lewis cites some pretty impressive statistics. Which is nice because that’s the only way to find them. If you go to the official NHPD website via City of New Haven and look at the “latest” crime statistics you get this report from 2006. Is that really the “latest”?

Well that’s okay,  do you have FAQs? Too bad, that link is broken. Looking for Crime Prevention & Safety Tips. Oops, that link doesn’t work either. Well, at least the missing persons page opens. Oh, wait, these people all went missing in 2004 and 2005. Hey, maybe that’s good news. Maybe no one has disappeared since then.

When you finally open the Blue Review and find that it’s been framed with some nice holiday-themed clip art c.1995, you start to think, maybe what the department really needs is some smart IT support.

Oh, what’s that? You thought you could find the Blue Review on the department website? Silly civ, it’s not there. I found it on the New Haven Independent. The same Independent that has become responsible for providing crime statistics through its special section, Crime Log, since the department has failed to provide such detailed reports and maps to the public. If you want to subscribe to the Blue Review send your e-mail to javery@newhavenct.net.

(Also, if you share my concerns about the Department’s webpages, feel free to contact the city’s webmaster: akardana@newhavenct.net. Then again, all evidence leads me to believe that the city created the website in 2006 and then left it to fend for itself. And now, it’s got some serious abandonment issues to deal with)

Anyways, Lewis tells us crime is down 12% overall from last year and that it’s in large part due to the 78% increase in traffic stops.

Well, that’s actually good news. A 78% increase in traffic stops seems like a concerted effort to make our streets safer to travel. Of course, that’s wishful thinking.

I’d be naive to claim that the increase in cars being pulled over for moving violations has anything to do with the Chief’s concern for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. Rather, it seems that he has found a completely effective method of catching illegal gun owners and drug dealers. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just not something the safe streets movement can claim as a victory.

Lewis’ efforts to ramp up traffic stops has nothing to do with safe streets activists’ pleas that he take a serious look at driving habits. Rather, it is an excuse to profile and weed out crack slingers and gun clappers.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t think anyone is going to argue about there being less drugs and guns in New Haven. But, wouldn’t it be nice to see an NHPD campaign that targets dangerous driving (i.e. speeding, DWI, texting/cell phone use) simply because it is a menace that directly contributes to the quality of life, or lack thereof, in the City of New Haven.

Guess what, chief. It’s not just gangsters who like to drive fast. Even the most law-abiding citizens rarely follow the city’s 25mph speed limit. Yet it is this very law, the speed limit, that assures everyone the equal opportunity to use our streets for travel. You shouldn’t have to travel in fear just because you don’t travel by car!

The current infrastructure, not just in New Haven but all across the nation, is discriminatory, plain and simple. And in addition, it promotes and perpetuates a practice that has been proven to eradicate our health and sustainability as a species.

Thus, it is important to remember that the safe streets concept extends far beyond our safety on the roads. Of course, by making our streets safer they become more attractive to the average user. More importantly though, attracting pedestrians and cyclists and discouraging automobiles will inevitably have the effect of making existence itself more robust and vivacious.

If anyone responsible for the safety and administration of the city of New Haven truly cares about “quality of life” they would already be aware of the degradation that automobiles cause, and they would be entirely committed to reversing it.

Teens Rob Devil’s Gear

Manager, Mitchell Dubey and owner, Matt Feiner survey the damage.

From the NHI:

The burglary happened after the breakup of an underage party at R Bar, on East Street, just two blocks away from the bike shop.

Here’s what happened, according to Feiner and a police report:

With R Bar holding its weekly teen night on Tuesday, and Wednesday a school holiday, the police posted several officers near R Bar, in case the scene got out of hand. Around midnight, hundreds of teens left R Bar as the event broke up.

Officer Rich Burgos started heading down Chapel Street. He noticed that a large group of teens leaving the bar had smashed a window at the Devil’s Gear. They teens were pulling out bikes.

Burgos called for backup. As police arrived at the scene, the burglars scattered.

Eight to ten officers arrived and “tried to grab as many [burglars] as they could, but they weren’t able to grab them all,” said Lt. Luis Casanova.

Cops arrested six thieves. They are 16 to 18 years old, Casanova said. One of the arrestees had narcotics on him, he said.

This is a sad thing to happen to anyone, particularly to Devil’s Gear owner, Matt Feiner, who has provided so much to the City, especially to kids. In the past he has partnered with LEAP to provide free repair classes to the city’s underprivileged youth. It’s ironic to imagine that one of the teens arrested could have been a student of Feiner in the past. I think  he said it best in an encounter with one of the offenders, reminding him, ““I’m a righteous man. Why are you stealing from me?”

According to the Independent, Feiner’s insurance will cover the loss, about $15,000 in stolen merchandise, and as of this morning, he was already taking the necessary precautions to avoid a future burglary.

In the very least, this incident brings to light an often overlooked issue in New Haven: What to do with idle teens. Attempts have been made to provide afterschool and late night events for them, but when something like this happens it only reinforces the idea that teens shouldn’t be out at night.

That’s a sad mentality to be stuck in. Teens should be able to be around their peers and have a good time even into the nighttime hours. But, in contrast to the city’s approach, we should have a more organic method of developing this.

Why not use the city’s resources for teens to invest in even more localized solutions. Each neighborhood or ward should have a portion of the budget, relative to their teenage population, to afford the necessary costs of facilitating the under-18 crowd. Why should they have to walk more than a few blocks to find a nice place to get together?

Each neighborhood should have a facility dedicated to the teenagers in that neighborhood, and staffed by community volunteers who would also serve as positive role models for the kids. Such a place would serve teens as a safehouse, a meeting place, and a retreat from the chaos that sometimes ensnares them. They shouldn’t have to gather at a bar to find that sort of refuge.

Sidewalk Biking Bust Nets 46-year-old Crackhead

Cycling expert, Lt. Ray Hassett, seen here demonstrating the proper way to ride a bicycle.

Lt. Ray Hassett’s persistence, dedication, and generally grumpy demeanor has finally paid dividends to the law-abiding, non-crack-smoking citizens of New Haven.

You may remember Lt. Hassett for his noble yet misguided attack on sidewalk riders earlier this year, (read more here). For those who don’t know, Hassett bravely went toe to toe with the most menacing group of organized ruffians on the streets of New Haven: Sidewalk Bikers.

Yes, those poor saps you might mistake for children, or the elderly, those concrete warriors, those department store triathletes, in short, the least of our problems in the city of New Haven – the moths of the criminal world.

All that changed on Monday when Lt. Hassett’s one-man fight finally netted an arrest worthy of the news.

The NHI reports that Hassett observed a repeat offender riding on the sidewalk in his Dwight district, saying “He’d stopped her before and warned her to stay on the street.”

I thought cops were supposed to tell people to stay off the street, especially unskilled bikers. I think it’s pretty obvious Hassett’s real intention here is to unlawfully search people, which he probably did in this case. I don’t think he’s too concerned with any actual safety issues of which there were a lot in this incident. (The crack pipe poking out of the stem-mounted bike bag could have caused serious injuries to the rider’s genitals).

Regardless, Hassett did catch a middle-aged crackhead, probably someone who needed help, so for now his brazen disregard for the Fourth Amendment shall go unchallenged, especially by a crackhead and her public defender.

I think the saddest part about this incident, though, is that some people will use this arrest to justify Hassett’s anti-sidewalk riding campaign, arguing that sidewalk riding is indeed a quality-of-life crime. Well, if that’s the case then I have a short list of other quality-of-life crimes that are currently either ignored or under-punished by law enforcement. In no particular order they are:

• Speeding cars – What will it take for cops to start enforcing speed limits? It would help if the city didn’t have to send 90% of ticket revenue to Hartford. Then, there would be more incentive for the administration to push for a crackdown on a real quality-of-life issue like speeding. It would also help if cops themselves took the 25mph city speed limit seriously. I know, their jobs are so hard we can’t expect them to actually follow the laws they enforce.
• People who SELL crack – Don’t get me wrong here. I still think it’s important to arrest the people who smoke crack. In fact, that’s a great way to catch the dealers. Seriously, how hard would it be to entice a crackhead, (with the promise of more crack), to simply lead you to his dealer? Is this not plausible? I suspect there’s something else going on here. At this point, I think it’s too soon to mention Dark Alliance. I’ll let you know when you’re ready.
• Modified exhaust systems on motorcycles – WTF? You’re going to pull someone over for riding their bike on the sidewalk but you’ll let these obnoxious morons ride around with absolutely no regard for the “quality of life” of New Haven citizens. How about you start pulling them over, confiscating their illegal bikes, and then ordering them to ride those really tacky Wal-mart choppers for one year.

Justice Served!

I’ll leave you with this quote from the NHI article:

“Hassett, who’s persistent about stopping cyclists who violate rules of the road (or sidewalk), called biking laws a useful tool for preserving order.”

Now, with the examples I just gave of actual quality-of-life crimes being committed continuously all across the city everyday, and then just hearing Hassett say that enforcing biking laws is a “useful tool for preserving order”, I have just one thing to ask the Lieutenant if he’s reading. Sir, did they have to make a special pair of police issue trousers just to fit you? Because, those are some big balls.

Update: “Complete Bridges”