if you care - call the police when you see those activities.

old brewerytown is largely made up of two kinds of blocks- ones where the residents call the police and ones where they don't. On blocks where the residents call the police - it is known and no activity happens- where it isn't - that is where the bad stuff goes down. I've seen blocks transition - it is swift and quick. Unfortunately- there are still blocks where the residents don't care.

No, I lived at 29th and Ogden in '89. The Brewery had already been converted into apartments and lofts by then. Fairmount was a slow burn. If you're expecting a No Libs-type acceleration (0-100 in 4 yrs), yes it is far far far worse.

__________________
"I pray to God you spent those 20 years cleaning up operating rooms"--Tanny

btwn brown and Girard is NOT 29th and thompson. The difference is like Dubai and Myanmar. and if you are reference the 27th and parrish shooting of two years ago- don't even get me started.

I am not. I actually forgot about that one; but it should be on the list.

The problem is Dubai and Myanmar (I think) are pretty far apart.

29th THompson and 28th and Parrish are les far apart.
and
My impression is that the area South of Girard is not getting more safe but rather less safe.

I could be wrong. Or it could simply be that with more at risk (wife and 2 kids) for me 29th and THompson feels a hell of a lot closer then it did 5 years ago.

FWIW, according to the Penn Crimebase, there definitely was an uptick in crimes during 2006 for the area bounded by Girard and Brown on the north and south and by Stillman and 30th on the east and west. By contrast, in 2005 there were 1/3 as many serious crimes in this area as there were in 1998 -- a serious improvement. In all likelihood, because some criminals have realized that this area is now fairly "ripe" (i.e., more affluent yuppies who aren't likely to pose a retaliatory threat), it presents an opportunity for some quick scores. (Robberies and burglaries, for example, returned to their 1998/1999 levels.) Unfortunately, I don't know what data is available for 2007, so I can't speak to that.

From my discussions with officers in the 9th district, part of the problem is that there has been significant attrition in the 9th's police force, and the city hasn't bothered replacing those departed officers. So, the 9th is seriously understaffed. I obviously can't confirm whether the office who told me this is right, but supposedly, on some nights, there are only two officers patrolling the streets for the entire 9th district. We're talking about an area that goes from Lombard to Poplar, and there are only two officers on patrol at night. Couple this with the fact that the area between Brown and Poplar is located at the very edge of the police district and the fact that there is probably a lot of pressure to keep the southern end of the district (i.e., Rittenhouse) as safe as possible, and it's easy to see why the demands on officers might cause this part of the neighborhood to be a bit neglected.

If this upsets any of you, then call Councilman-at-large Bill Greenlee. Heck, he lives on Ogden b/w 29th and 30th (I think). He really should care about this; and if he doesn't, well then that should give us all a sense of his priorities.

[EDIT: sorry, just realized that I should have mentioned that the area north of Poplar is the 23rd district.]

__________________
"Everything that guy just said is bull$h!t! Thank you."

-- Vincent LaGuardia Gambini

no one is talking about the increase in theft due to the fact people in the neighborhood now have things actually worth stealing. When I moved in years ago, there was nothing to steal and therefore few robberies (drugs deals/shootings, yes). Now, with all my yuppie neighbors, I feel much more insecure. I rarely hear gunshots like I used to, but I wasn't the target then...

BTW, I am all for gentrification. Just noting the apparent side-effect.

PhillyRunner, you have been mislead. There are times when manpower may be light. That happens for many reasons. But 2 cars covering a District overnight isn't going to happen. Commanders project what manpower they expect to have. If a situation arose where only 2 people were available to work that night, then supplemental officers would be brought in. Either special units, other districts, or "hiring" offricers from other shifts. There were many summer nights when I worked in East Division where a groupof us on 4X12 were paid OT to stay the next tour. And trust me, it's not hard to get any cop to work 8 hours OT pushing a car around in their own district for the night. Many nights volunteers were turned down. Not to mention, the manpower is something that a Commander can hide very well. If a Commander allowed a tour to go with 2 cops, he/she would be the Commanding officer of no-man's land the following day. No boss would ever let this happen.
As for the 29 and Thompson area, there has been a huge uptick in violence around that area. I'm chagrined that I hadn't heard about the gunshots the other night, but I was off and will try and find out the particulars.

__________________
My Tribute to P/O Pat McDonald :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFg2h9E2LFo
Rest in Peace, brother.

---------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14946781@N03/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/My_Philadelphia/

Thanks for the info, LBomb. Always appreciate your candor and assistance.

__________________
"Everything that guy just said is bull$h!t! Thank you."

-- Vincent LaGuardia Gambini