GRAND RAPIDS NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION
INPUT HIGHLIGHTS

The Grand Rapids Police Department recognizes the unique contribution that Neighborhood Associations will play in making community policing a success. To ensure maximum input from this group, two two-hour dinner meetings were held, prior to each of the last two Neighborhood Meetings.

To promote candor, the sessions were hosted by policing.com's Bonnie Bucqueroux and Dr. Carl Taylor of the Strategic Planning Support Team. In addition to notes, participants were urged to write their comments on survey questionnaires, as a guarantee that their input was recorded fully and fairly.

Tuesday - August 18, 1998
WEST SIDE COMPLEX
215 Straight NW
5 - 7 p.m.

  • We want a facility. Need to do more with kids. Prevention is the key and that means working with young people.
  • Build on what we have. Co-locate with the West Grand Neighborhood Association. Make sure that the police communicate with the neighborhood organizers.
  • Use existing facilities - no need to build new ones.
  • Focus on youth. Build next to schools. Build with Youth Commonwealth. They now have the go-ahead to re-build their West Side facility. Design the police facility as a community center. Have the police work closely with the neighborhood crime prevention officers. One concern is that the backup may not be there in the unfunded neighborhoods.
  • There are two methods of community development - community organizing and service provision. We need both. The use of rec centers would be great. Need to make an outreach to families in crisis – requires all of us to get involved along with city services. We don’t just want a gym. Use the schools. We have a very divided city. Work with kids – involve them in a process. (Note that this person noted that there were no representatives from other neighborhoods, such as the southeast side, but then people from the that area made it clear that they had come to have input.)
  • A retired police officer who worked out of the schools said that schools and police are a natural. Need an officer in uniform at the elementary level to set a lifelong relationship. Officers in schools can counsel kids.
  • A woman took offense at being asked whether she would donate more of her time and talents – said her constituents already do so much that they would be offended. Wants a marriage between the neighborhood and the beat cop – the officers must open themselves up and get to know people. The neighborhood and the police department must work together – neither can do it alone. Need resources to deal with specific problems, such as with our Native American community. Citizen’s Patrol - people need to know that we are there and join us, and the police need to work with us.
  • Woman called dispatch – on her cell phone following kids. Dispatcher was silent – she thought they had hung up. Another recent time, the dispatcher was disrespectful - harangued her.
  • Officers must be in the neighborhoods. They need to stop the problems first and then start youth programs for long-term change.
  • Many of the problem kids have reading problems. Get Grand Valley (State University) to work with the kids - help us to tutor them. Working with kids means that they will also give police the information that they need.
  • The police give young people a hard time without know whether they are or are not doing anything wrong.
  • The only officer the kids know is Officer Gary, who used to work out of the schools. They think the police are just out to get them. Officers need to give their names. They need to just say, "Hi," and be friendly. The younger officers especially need education on diversity, youth culture, and the lingo that kids use.
  • Creston resident said that police officers need to learn to listen. Their officer is working on problems but he feels all alone. Because he’s always pushing for change, some think he’s a whiner. Officers need to meet people’s need and the neighborhood should be their allies. Do not forget that neighborhoods have capacities – not just problems.
  • Focus an effort on alcohol abuse. It is so great a problem that it deserves its own task force. · Wants four facilities – learn that we have to team up to work with the police department and the police department has to work with us
  • Where are the Big Fries? The chief, top command. How come we don’t get to talk directly to them. (Promised them that the Big Fries were on their way.)
  • Our neighborhood officer works his butt off. It’s the officers in cars who are not community minded. I worry about buy-in from the other officers. It takes a lot of time to build a relationship. Promote officers differently – not just for response time. Give officers the time to work on problems.
  • Officers need to learn how to deal with people.
  • Remember what happened with the Library expansion plan. They came here with their plan and tried to ram it down our throats and we revolted. Make sure that you come back with your plan and let us have input again.
  • We need an officer in every neighborhood in the city.
  • I work in crime prevention for an unfunded area. Need to work harder if you feel West Side has been ignored.
  • Need to educate the community that domestic violence is NOT OK. A drug house in your neighborhood is not acceptable. We do not have to tolerate these problems.
  • We should be the bridge to collaborate with other city agencies. To bring services to our centers. Use mobile patrol. Focus on domestic violence. We have serious problems with fights outside liquor establishments – need to deal with that.
  • Need computers online in those neighborhood facilities. Need to access federal dollars to help. · We find it hard to empower citizens when we tell them to call city agencies and those agencies tell them to work through us.
  • Deal with the vacant buildings. Wednesday - August 19 CALVIN CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH 700 Ethel SE 5 - 7 p.m.
  • Have police live in the community. Dispatch seems impersonal.
  • On Fountain between College and Union – prostitution and drug use. Never see police in our area. Problems with quality of life – those loud car stereos.
  • We see officers and know that they are there for us. I like the increased visibility, even the empty patrol car. But need to do more than that.
  • In other neighborhoods, the police tolerate things like open alcohol – there’s a racial bias in the way we are treated.
  • Police and courts aren’t the answer for kids seven and eight years old.
  • Unless we get control, a million police would not be enough to get control of some of our blocks. We need to make home visits with police officers – collaborate.
  • We don’t have bike patrol. We want more foot patrol and bike patrol.
  • You’ve gotta show us. We’ve been here before and nothing changed.
  • We want officers walking and talking to us, not each other. I was told that some of those young officers are scared – they don’t come from neighborhoods like ours. Then put some seasoned officers out there. Some women. Teach them to be community friendly.
  • We want a permanent presence.
  • I live on Bart by Wealthy - we have problems with drugs, landlords, streets are dirty. We want officers to talk to us.
  • We want more diversity in the police department.
  • Police focus on the big stuff – but we have problems with quality of life. Kids buying cigarettes. Trash on the ground. Loud Music. Vulgar language. We need a loitering law. More diversity training for officers.
  • Police officers are "curt" - need better communication skills.
  • Why is there no agenda for this meeting? I want an agenda.
  • Use Grand Rapids Libraries for community meetings.
  • We need more lead time for meetings like this.
  • More foot patrol. Deal with problem houses and traffic – more stop signs. Small children are going to be hurt.
  • Representative from Parks & Rec’s Rec to reduce risk program wants to work more closely with police.
  • Many kids are out on the street because of the heat and nothing to do. Nothing for teenagers. We have children raising children. Involve Child Protective Services.
  • Do something or stop coming here.
  • Need more bi-lingual officers.
  • Need officers to attend community meetings. Wants code enforcement in neighborhood facility. Absentee landlords are a real problem. Need City Development. Wants the business associations to start helping with problems like party store problems. Problem with city-owned lots – grass gets tall and nothing is done, yet they fine us.
  • Where is the City Planner and the Mayor? Why aren’t they here?
  • Wants a 311 system to take pressure off 911.
  • Wants housing code on the team – more officers. As many city services as possible.
  • Youth programs - kids have creative energy that isn’t being tapped and directed. Community service projects for kids that get into trouble. Painting murals. Tired to hearing bad things about kids.
  • Police officers need to be in touch with the neighborhoods – they need to make it easy for us to work with them.
  • Our community is rich in resources. Our police officer should be our advocate for other departments - like our problems with barking dogs. We want city departments to collaborate. Use the Fire Departments for help. Use trash collectors to keep an eye on things. Law enforcement must advocate for problem solving.
  • Community policing means partnership. The officers must recognize community leadership. Work with community members to accomplish our goals.
  • Deal with landlords – slumlords.
  • Work with churches to have them adopt a family. We want personalized police service. Hands on. Holistic.
  • Political support is critical. Is it there?
  • Teach police how to work with people. When we question officers, we shouldn’t be treated like we are criminals. Dispatch treats me like I’m the criminal. We’re tired of putting up with it.
  • Jefferson near Holmes – truancy problems.

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