[RBS] SHOMRIM in RBSA - Let's protect ourselves!

[aviva adler]

Dear Neighbors,

I've only been in RBSA a few months, and the number of break-ins, home
invasions, and thefts endangering our property and potentially our lives,
is truly alarming.

I made aliyah from Baltimore, where I felt pretty safe even though the
Jewish community was surrounded by a 70% poor, urban, African-American
population with a very high crime rate, because we were protected by a
partnership of community members and local police, called SHOMRIM.

I think maybe it's time to institute SHOMRIM here in RBSA.

SHOMRIM are community members who volunteer on a regular basis to patrol
assigned areas of their neighborhoods, acting as "eyes and ears" with
walkie-talkies and cellphones, who report any suspicious activity to the
local police, coordinated through a dispatcher who handles the calls.

If people want to help get this started here, I am happy to volunteer my
time and services.  In Baltimore, I think men did the patrolling, but I
know at least one of the dispatchers was a woman handling the phone calls,
and I am sure there are other administrative tasks involved that would be
suitable for women volunteers.  There are plenty of Baltimoreans here who
probably have direct experience with Shomrim and could answer any specific
questions about program operations.

I've heard we do not have our own police here; that's a problem to work
on.  And I've heard that the reason we have this kind of crime is because
we have Arab construction workers here; that's another problem to work on.
In the meantime, there's no reason for us not to take steps to protect
ourselves and our property.

Just an idea,
  Aviva Adler

Here is the website for Baltimore's SHOMRIM, which explains more fully what
it is and how it works.

http://www.shomrim.net/


*The website says: *

"In response to increasing crime trends in our local community, a group of
concerned citizens founded Shomrim of Baltimore, Inc. in October-2005, as a
501(c)3 non-profit community organization whose overall mission is to
improve public safety and security. We respond to calls received on our
hotline, (410) 358-9999, 24 hours a day/365 days a year, and our personnel
are normally on-site within minutes.

Currently, we have over 30 volunteer incident responders who provide
security and safety assistance in the Northwest Baltimore Neighborhood
which encompasses parts of Baltimore City and Baltimore County. We work
very closely with both police departments by assisting them in deterring
crime, being additional ‘eyes and ears’ in our neighborhoods; thereby
helping them make more arrests and improve the overall quality of life in
our neighborhood. In fact, in some cases the police request our assistance
in cases such as missing persons, community events and other matters.

In an average month, we respond to 130-150 calls. People call us whenever
something goes wrong: theft of property, an assault, or even a hit-and-run
accident. But, we are also called when things might be wrong: when someone
comes home to find a front door or back window open, they call Shomrim.
When they see someone looking in their car's window, or coming up onto
their property - or even taking pictures of their children, homes, or
synagogues - they give us a call. We respond and ensure everyone is safe
and property is secured. In case of an emergency, call 911.
Shomrim are involved in intelligence sharing in the community as it relates
to crime as well as providing physical security at community events
throughout the year. They act as a force multiplier for the Baltimore City
Police Department."




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