catalytic converters

missy · Post by **missy** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 12:57 pm

Flydood - that's EXACTLY why Tom and I are so active in Citizens on Patrol, Quality of Life, and other police and community things. We refuse to give the neighborhood up to the thugs. And we HAVE (I mean, the various groups, not us personnally) made a difference. College Hill is still below other similar neighborhoods in Cincinnati as far as robberies etc. - and we "only" had 2 murders last year (the city of Cincinnati had 70). The thugs know WE know who they are. The judges listen to our Court Watch representatives when passing sentences. We are about a month away from having a probation - excuse me - community control officer stationed in the area. And we have a great working relationship with the police department (at least the rank and file).
We do have a high "calls for service" number, but that's a GOOD thing. It means the citizens ARE paying attention and are not afraid to call and report things.

We have a long way to go - and with a new mayor and city council, we have another group to "train". But the mayor came to OUR Rec Center to talk about his plan to fight crime because he knows we will do our best to help.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 6:07 am

Have you considered hiring this guy?

I.D.10-t · Post by **I.D.10-t** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:15 am

Police say catalytic converter thefts becoming commonplace

missy · Post by **missy** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:32 am

wow - thanks!

I had found that link, but it wanted a fee to register, so I didn't.

flanum · Post by **flanum** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 2:48 pm

CATHOLIC CONVERTERS!

Daniel_Bingamon · Post by **Daniel_Bingamon** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:31 pm

missy wrote:And we HAVE (I mean, the various groups, not us personnally) made a difference. College Hill is still below other similar neighborhoods in Cincinnati as far as robberies etc. - and we "only" had 2 murders last year (the city of Cincinnati had 70). The thugs know WE know who they are. The judges listen to our Court Watch representatives when passing sentences. We are about a month away from having a probation - excuse me - community control officer stationed in the area. And we have a great working relationship with the police department (at least the rank and file).

Yes, Cincinnati has become a disaster. Some suburbs in Iraq are probably safer. I don't have a lot of confidence in Cincinnati politicians - no matter what side they are on. I say fire all of cincy's politicians and bring in the ones from Northern Ky, hire New York's Giuliani as a consultant.

Regarding Catalytic Convertors, there is place nearby the collects them to recycle, they have had a lot breakins by drug people. The convertors resale on the recycling market for high dollars and drug people use it to get funds for their habit.
The recyclers have installed cameras and the problem has reduced as some of the thieves have be caught. The thieves usually turn up having possesion charges in their records

fel bautista · Post by **fel bautista** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 11:47 pm

the catalyst and exhaust for my Audi is $3K from the dealer <sigh, its one piece for ech side, no separate tidlly bits-I don't understand either>- I would be very p****d if someone took a torch to get the actual canisters.

missy · Post by **missy** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:13 am

Daniel_Bingamon wrote:
Yes, Cincinnati has become a disaster. Some suburbs in Iraq are probably safer. I don't have a lot of confidence in Cincinnati politicians - no matter what side they are on. I say fire all of cincy's politicians and bring in the ones from Northern Ky, hire New York's Giuliani as a consultant.

Daniel - don't give up on Cincinnati just yet........

I believe you said you are working in Bond Hill? I know, that's not the "best" part of town. Unfortunately, they don't have a super active community council yet, but there are things happening that can make one hopeful.
As for City Council - we'll see. The "changing of the guard" is a good sign, and believe me, Mr. Mallory WILL be held over the coals. We got to know him pretty well during the campaign (he had his headquarters in College Hill, as did Charlie Winburn) and if nothing else, his MOTHER will make sure he toes the line (she's a tiny but powerful woman!!!).

What is needed right now is more police, more community involvement, and more jail space. There are WAY too many thugs that should be in jail but there is no room for them. The police need to have their hands "untied" from the collaborative agreement (and I think it's great that Si Leis is not only having sheriffs help out, but saying THEY will NOT operate under the conditions of the agreement).
But the most important thing is community involvement. People need to WORK with the police, and not be afraid to rat on the thugs. It's horrible that no one has come forward with information on the shooting of that young girl in Bond Hill on Christmas Eve. We need more groups such as Citizens on Patrol (23 of the 52 communities in the city have a formal group) and CPOP. And we need churches, schools, businesses and citizens all working together for common good (notice I did NOT include government on that list??).

I ask of YOU as a person working in the area - find out who the community contact is for your police district (I think you're in District 3 - I can find out for you if you like). Call in ANY and ALL questionable activity you see. Or call the Crimestoppers at (513)352-3040 or 1-888-352-3040. The more reports, the more the police can take action against these perps (and, believe me, when they DO come up for sentencing, the judge WILL take into account the effect they have on the community).

You can tell from driving around Bond Hill what that community once "was". Some of those stone houses are just gorgeous - and you don't find a place like Maketewah County Club in many areas. Just like many neighborhoods in Cincinnati - they once were "gems", and the potential is still there, IF the citizens are willing to work for it. We in College Hill are (as are North Side, Walnut Hills, Madisonville, and several others that I know are very active).

Tom and I also spend a lot of time at Findlay Market - which as you know is in the heart of "bad" country (Over the Rhine). That, too, has great potential. The best thing one can do is support those businesses that DO take a stand and try to make a go in these areas. In all the times we've been at Findlay I've never had problems. My son worked at Findlay, and was there at 5am on Saturday's to open the store, and HE never had a problem. If you've never gone there, take a Saturday and do so. Great food, great shopping, and great people. Stop in a Madison's and tell them Missy sent you (if Nate was still there, he'd give you a free coffee!!).

I'll hush now - heck, it IS my thread, and if I want to hijack it, I guess I can!!!

Tyler · Post by **Tyler** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:31 am

missy wrote:
it IS my thread, and if I want to hijack it, I guess I can!!!

Mitch · Post by **Mitch** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:02 pm

Hi missy. I applaud your stance. It is heartenning to see how your community is encompassing the police service as an arm of the community. It is way too easy to mistake the police for some kind of external private army - in fact that kind of attitude can very well lead the police to begin behaving like hostile outsiders.

It has always been the job of the community to set the tone of the community - neglect of this responsibility has the all too obvious results - power vacuums get filled instantly, and always by folks who don't give a damn about the community. A community must also take posession of their representatives in government for the same reasons.

I can see where you and your community are active in setting standards and enforcing them - what is being done on the "oportunity" side of the coin? i.e. what is your town doing to provide alternatives to drug-abuse and crime, for those trapped in desparation and ignorance?

missy · Post by **missy** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 7:21 am

thank for the kind words Mitch....

We have a great group called Quality of Life that works on "living" issues. Some of the things we do is help with deteriorating buildings and homes and yards (we had a group of over 20 a couple of Saturday's ago take down a only half standing garage - got a roll off box donated, and in three hours had the yard totally cleaned up).
But the QoL also goes into the gradeschool here and "adopts" kids and follows them through high school. We also work with the high school kids (this is in it's infancy, so we're still trying to find out needs and what works and what doesn't). It can be something as simple as just furnishing personal products (the teachers were buying the kids soap, etc.) to being a "psuedo-parent" making sure the kids are in class, do homework, etc. We help them do "community service" projects and work right along with them.

Unfortunately, we have a HUGE job ahead of us. The local school system is still running about 50% graduation rate (although if you look up the stats, it won't say that because they calculate them on who starts and doesn't finish 12th grade). And it's SO much more appealing to peddle drugs and rob, then to work for 6 bucks an hour at the local pizza parlor.

Several of the local employers also go into the schools to mentor and help those that have the desire find ways to get a college education (including helping them find scholarships, etc.).

We also have a very great group of churches that work together. We have several "feasts of love" a year where anyone can come and have a free meal (many give up having a family Thanksgiving and instead work at the meal and eat there). One of our local ministers has SOMETHING going on every night, from home work help to career development to just listening.

And, as we get our rebuilding underway, it will mean more jobs for local young people.

I honestly know that a LOT of our work may not have good outcomes - I'm not that naive. But I also feel we have to TRY. I absolutely refuse to let the druggies have MY neighborhood!