W-B dispute Police should be at all sessions, says group’s leader. Mayor backs ‘city representation’ at some meetings.

BILL O ’ BOYLE boboyle@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE – Charlotte Raup wants to see a city police officer at all 14 neighborhood crime watch meetings every month. Mayor Tom Leighton said he will authorize “city representation” at five meetings per month – one in each of the districts.

A police officer attended the meetings for more than 20 years, said Raup, the head of Wilkes-Barre’s Crime Watch Coalition, but the practice stoppped about a year ago.

“We cost the city nothing,” Raup said. “We are the eyes and ears for the police so they can collect information.”

Leighton said it would cost the city money to send an officer to every meeting and has offered to send a city representative to five meetings per month.

But Raup said she and the 350 members of the organization want a police officer at every meeting so they can communicate directly with an officer.

Raup said details are important to people who want to know if cars are being broken into in their neighborhood, or homes are being entered.

Councilman Mike Merritt, who represents District E, attended a CrimeWatch meeting Monday night and said neither the city administration nor police department was represented.

“Even if we can get them to one per district a month would be good,” Merritt said. “By doing that, the city would be sending a very positive message; that they are here to support the CrimeWatch. By not sending anyone, people get the feeling the city doesn’t care and I know that’s not true, but perception sometimes is reality.”

Merritt said he will meet with Leighton to discuss the matter. He and Councilwoman Kathy Kane raised the issue at last week’s council meeting.

“We shouldn’t have stopped it entirely,” Kane said. “But we could send one to five meetings per month.”

Council President Tony Thomas Jr. proposes holding a citywide CrimeWatch meeting every three months with a police officer in attendance.

Councilman and former Police Chief Bill Barrett said he knows the value of having an active CrimeWatch.

“It only works if the communication is there between the group and police,” Barrett said.

Barrett said it’s important for officers to attend meetings, but he said it isn’t necessary to have one at all 14 meetings every month.

Raup said she will continue to ask for police at all meetings.

“I told the mayor I would not let any of our members down, especially the seniors at the high-rises who are often victims of crime,” she said.

For a link to the Crime Watch site, visit www.timesleader.com

On behalf of the Wilkes-Barre Crime Watch Coalition, I want to wish everyone a safe and healthy new year.

I and the city’s other crime watch coordinators encourage continued participation for 2009. Each crime watch meeting consists of a speaker presenting a topic concerning crime prevention, reports about crimes committed in each neighborhood and tips on how to prevent them.

In 2008, for example, we presented our city’s residents with informative programs on Megan’s Law, Operation I.D., personal safety and identification theft.

Likewise, speakers included Luzerne County Sheriff Michael A. Savokinas and several of his deputies, Luzerne County Detective Chaz Balogh and Pat Rushton of the Victims Resource Center.

In 2008 our members have been involved in graffiti cleanups, starting a new crime watch group in central city, sponsoring a free National Night Out event for children, providing free vehicle identification number (VIN) etching on residents’ vehicles and Christmas caroling at the VA Hospital.

In addition, many of our members recently completed an eight-week Citizens Police Academy course sponsored by the Pennsylvania State Police.

We are extremely thankful for the support we have received from the district attorney’s office, the sheriff’s office, Wilkes-Barre city council and all the agencies that support us.

It is hard to deny that we are a small city with big-city crime. The more progressive cities encourage citizens’ patrols and neighborhood crime watch to act as the eyes and the ears for the police. An alert and cooperative neighborhood is the greatest single defense against crime.

Our hope in the coming year is that Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton will reconsider his decision to not send a police officer to our meetings. An honest exchange of information between our residents and law enforcement at our meetings is a vital part of our effort to suppress crime and improve the quality of life in our city.

Charlotte Raup President, Wilkes-Barre Crime Watch Coalition