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Why MSP is Still Important, July 23, 2002
by Mike Carew
Since becoming MLPA's Public Safety Co-Chair, I am often asked if membership in MSP is still important. After all, as the inquirer usually notes, there is not much crime in Morningside. Generally that may be true but as we have seen, serious crime can run in cycles. Recently we have seen an alarming increase in burglary in the neighborhood. Several things should be considered before jumping to any conclusions.
First, APD's Zone 2, which covers our neighborhood, also covers several other large neighborhoods including Buckhead. It is well known that the APD is understaffed. As one might imagine, Buckhead demands a lot of APD personnel and departmental resources. At night and in the early morning hours there is often only one patrol car covering our entire neighborhood. Frequently, that squad car is busy on Cheshire Bridge or some other area on our perimeter. MSP ameliorates this situation by adding extra patrols in our neighborhood.
Besides providing additional coverage for the neighborhood, the Patrol has played a role in dealing with vagrancy and vandalism in some of our parks. During the Fall of 2000, Officer Vazquez routed a vagrant who would drive deep into Lenox-Wildwood Park to spend most of the night and early morning there. This individual could also be seen at all hours of the day in his pick-up truck in the parking lot. It was a perfect spot for observing the comings and goings of residents in the area around the park.
MSP has also helped catch people breaking into cars, mailboxes, and houses in the neighborhood. In November 2001, Officer Stewart arrested a prowler on Wessyington Rd. while on duty with the MSP. A few months later he scared a prowler away from a house on Wellbourne. In February, 2002, Officer Stapler assisted the regular APD in arresting a group of burglars who had been hitting our neighborhood.
All of our officers are off-duty APD officers. They drive the new MSP squad car or at times, their own cars. Two officers are sometimes on their APD motorcycles. Usually our officers are in full uniform and are armed. Our officers must check in with Zone 2 command when they come on duty and are in constant contact with the Zone dispatch. They can respond to situations in our neighborhood quickly and with authority. They are not third party rent-a-cops. They are the real deal.
One of the most valuable services MSP performs is to check on residents' homes while they are away. Officers get out of their cars and walk around property, checking doors, windows, and outbuildings for any problems. When the residents return, they receive a report of the Security Patrol's checks.
One evening last summer, I rode with lead Officer, Investigator Rick Vazquez. We checked on nearly a dozen homes. In addition to checking on houses where people were away, we responded to an abandoned car complaint and briefly checked a vacant house undergoing renovations. We checked on a complaint at another residence and made a follow-up visit to another. All this was done while performing a general patrol of the entire neighborhood.
During the course of our patrol we came across a briefcase in the middle of one of our residential streets. We stopped and asked around and found the owner. It turns out that earlier, when she was getting things out of her trunk, she had put her briefcase down in the street, was distracted, and then forgot about it. This kind of service not only makes our neighborhood more secure but also gives it a friendlier atmosphere - the kind of place where people want to live.
MSP is a great value. The pay range for our officers is the same as it is for some of the other patrols in nearby neighborhoods. Increases in the MSP budget are primarily due to increasing coverage of our neighborhood. We would like to have coverage 24-7 but currently MSP's 12 officers can only provide about 64 hours of coverage weekly. About 60 per cent of that coverage falls between 6 PM and 6 AM.
Our immediate goal is to provide complete coverage in the afternoon and early morning hours. Most house break-ins occur in the late afternoon and most car break-ins occur in the night and early morning hours. Until recently, car break-ins were the most frequent type of crime in our neighborhood. Eventually, we would like to have around-the-clock coverage.
But today, even the coverage we currently provide is threatened. Homes turn over and new residents move in. Many of these new residents do not take advantage of MSP's services or even join MLPA. We need our members to talk up our services. Special events, including "meet 'n' greets", and a pancake breakfast are planned for the coming months.
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