[RBS] Summary of meeting with Police Chief on June 25th

[Ephrayim Naiman]

Dear All,

The following is a summary of the citizen's meeting with D'vir the
Police chief, on June 25, 2012:

1. Current Status
+ Recently there has been a sharp increase in burglaries and stolen cars.
+ There have been some arrests, but not nearly enough.
+ There is a need for a lot more manpower to get control of the
situation, not something which is expected in the foreseeable future.
+ This is not something new - keep in mind, that no matter how many
arrests are made, there will always continue to be crime - especially
in a city.  Our job is to reduce it as much as possible.

2. Partnerships
+ The Police is not looking to shirk its responsibility, but clearly the
more help from everyone, the more effective we'll be.  This includes:
Mishmar Hagevul, the Iriya, Mishmar Ezrachi, Sayerret Horim and
others.
+ Therefore, we are having this meeting and we'd like to have more of them.

3. What we see
+ When we're around the RBS neighborhoods, we see that citizens don't
react to suspicious people/situations.
+ We even did a number of "test runs" in RBS on Friday night and walked
around with suspicious clothes, carrying a full tik, walking by
various noar groups and there was no reaction; no one looking twice,
no one checking to see where we're going, no one reporting, etc.
+ We see windows open, cars unlocked, the front door to people's homes
wide open, etc.
+ We just finished a 3-4 month "mivtza" with tens of yishuvim in the
area, helping them close up their security holes and become more
aware.  Burglaries and car theft is almost at zero in the Yishuvim
now.  And more than 50% of burglaries are being reported in R/BS, when
traditionally, 60%+ crimes of this nature are in the Yishuvim.  In
other words, being aware and changing one's behavior to keep things
closed/locked, required burglars to look elsewhere and now they're
hitting the city.

4. Make it harder for the burglars
+ Don't leave your house keys "hidden" anywhere.  Not in the electric
closet, fire hose closet, under a plant, etc.
+ When you have workers in your house, do not leave them unattended, do
not leave spare keys around.
+ Notice who's in the neighborhood.
+ If you see someone walking around with a tied up sheet, or a large
tik, or a coat on a hot day, etc - call the police ASAP!
+ Report the height, color clothes, shoes, any other unique identifying
marks, etc.  Notice what direction the person is going, whether he's
hiding in an alley, etc.
+ Extra locks on the door, Soragim, alarm system, cameras, etc.
+ Do not keep a lot of cash at home
+ Lock things up even when leaving for a few minutes - like walking a
dog, borrowing some eggs from a neighbor, etc.
+ When going on vacation:
  - Don't advertise it - a neighbor's worker may hear.
  - Leave a light on and/or a radio
  - Make sure someone takes your mail in.

5. In Summary ...
+ Be aware, be our eyes, increase your methods of protection and
report suspicious activity.
+ Join Mishmar Ezrachi and Sayerret Horim - they also help reduce
violence, vandalism and crime in the neighborhood.  The Sayerret Horim
in particular is critical for the 2 summer months on Thursday nights
and Motzash.
+ If you would like more information about Mishmar Ezrachi, please be
in touch with Gideon Yavin (Hebrew/English speaker):
gideonyavin at gmail.com or 052-714-4428.

6. Questions/Answers
Q: How much time should it take to respond to a call?
A: It is supposed to be a max of 15 minutes
Q: How good are soragim?  Better to spend money on alarms?
A: No clear answer.  He sort of went with bars - but as many people
commented, not all bars are created equal.  This should be clarified.
Q: Can a police mini-tachana be setup for southern side of RBS?
A: Not justified.  Right now there's 17 policemen on a "mivtza" in this area.
Q: Are workers being rousted out of building sites?
A: Yes
Q: Is it legal to have workers sleep on building sites?
A: No.
Q: Why can't magav be doing more of their work here?
A: Trying to involve them
Q: Will lights/cameras be installed on border areas/streets?
A: We have confirmed that if money can be raised for this, it will be
implemented
Q: Are there enough cars to patrol the more problematic areas?  Can we
get dedicated cars for problematic areas?
A: For as many Mishmar Ezrachi volunteers, they can get cars to be
filled.  He hinted that it may be possible to have such cars
concentrate more on certain areas - wasn't clear.

-Ephrayim Naiman
ejnaiman at gmail.com