Kingfield Crime and Safety Meeting
Tuesday, February 20
7-8:30pm
MLK Park
Attendance:
Kingfield Residents- 6
MPD- CPS Tom Thompson and Lt. Marie Przynski
Crime and Safety Task Force Chair- Shawna Gibson
KFNA Staff- Joanna S. Hallstrom, Project Organizer – KFNA
8th Ward Council Member- Elizabeth Glidden, also Kingfield Resident
Fifth Precinct Community Attorney- Lisa Goden
Announcements:
Block Building Award -The Van Nest Block Club was selected to receive one of the 2006 Building Block Awards from the Minneapolis Police Department. Awards are given to recognize outstanding examples of community building, crime prevention and neighborhood problem solving in Mpls. The award ceremony will be held on Tuesday, March 20, at 7pm, at St Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church (3450 Irving Ave. S.). The Kingfield Crime and Safety Task Force will attend the award ceremony in place of the regular Crime and Safety meeting.
Westrum’s Tavern Closing – CPS Thompson announced that the City has pulled Judy Westrum’s liquor license for noncompliance. This decision will go before the City Council of Friday. If the decision is upheld Westrums Tavern will cease operation as of March 1, 2007. Judy has reported that she is putting the business up for sale. Task force members have been unable to clarify the details of Judy’s plans.
Sex Offender Community Forum –
Thursday, February 22, 2007
7-8:30 pm at the YMCA, 3335 Blaisdell Ave. S.
Offender: James Jay Daniels, DOB 2/27/62
Issues of Concern / Neighborhood Crime Report:
There has been a definite increase of graffiti in Kingfield and Lyndale, especially along 38th street and Nicollet Ave. Chicago Ave has also been hit hard. Most of the graffiti is gang related.
Westrums Tavern has become a late night hang out for gang members of the Rolling 30s Bloods. With Westrum’s pending closing any gang related activity currently at Westrums will also cease. Champions Bar at Lake and Blaisdell is undergoing similar licensure reviews by the City and may be shut down with in the next month. Champions has become a hang out for the Bogus Boys gang members.
The Super America at 36th and Nicollet has become an after hours meeting place for gang members. The police department has been working with SA management to implement further security and crime prevention strategies (pending) include: hiring an off duty police officer from 10pm to 4am, installing “Talk Down” and “red phone” response with SA’s security surveillance company. SA was not in decided against closing this store over night.
A few residents, representing the 43rd block of Wentworth Ave, attended the meeting tonight specifically to meet introduce themselves to CPS Thompson and to set up a crime prevention meeting and assessment for their block.
3912 Blaisdell Ave is being taken into receivership by Spectrum Properties. This has been a nescience property.
Overall crime statistics are down.
The police department made three significant arrests at 33rd/34th and Lyndale targeting two gangs of young men that were assaulting and robbing pedestrians.
Community Organizing Strategies:
Graffiti Blitz Abatement Zone- CM Glidden, CPS Tom Thompson and Lt. Marie Przynski announced that the police department has selected the blocks between 39th Street to Lake from Nicollet Ave. to I-35W. for a targeted graffiti blitz abatement program. The blitz targets portions of Kingfield and the Lyndale neighborhoods. The police department is asking for neighborhood organizations to partner with them to collect signed permission forms from residents living in the target area. Resident signatures would authorize quick graffiti abatement by Public Works in coordination with Sentence to Serve and other required service programs. The details of the program still need to be clarified including the time frame, and abatement details (i.e. the paint color used to cover up graffiti, asking public works to suspend homeowner notices).
CPS Tom Thompson and Lt. Marie Przynski will have fliers and permission slips created for neighborhoods (In Spanish and English). The Kingfield Citizen Patrol is willing to do some door knocking to collect signature, however since a lot of the property in the zone is rental Hallstrom will have to track down landlords. Hallstrom will also contact Lyndale to coordinate efforts.
To volunteers from the Lyndale Crime and Safety Task Force are lobbying the legislature to lesson the burden of proof required to charge someone with graffiti offenses.
The police to have one graffiti criminal in custody, assigned to 45 days in the Work House.
Neighborhood Policing Plan- Lt. Przynski announced that each Sector Lt. is required to have a neighborhood policing plan in place. Lt. Przynski asked the task force for the main three issues Kingfield residents want to address and three solutions. Graffiti and drug dealing were the top issues expressed at the meeting tonight. The plan will be updated quarterly. The task force will work with the police on solutions to the issues (i.e. graffiti abatement zone).
Court Watch-Kingfield has one volunteer interested in participating in a multi-neighborhood court watch program. Hallstrom will meet with CPS Thompson, CARAG and Lyndale neighborhood reps tomorrow to discuss how the criteria for the program.