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<\/a>\u201cRight now if you\u2019re a single female in North Park, you\u2019re vulnerable,\u201d warned Kristin Erickson, a social worker who, along with regional director Kurt Wellman of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), hosted the two-hour town hall meeting held at Sunset Temple.<\/p>\n
Five women have been attacked in North Park in the past few months. The perpetrators remain at-large. A composite sketch of one of the assault suspects, described as a Hispanic male in his 20s who speaks with a Spanish accent, has been released.<\/p>\n
Wellman and Erickson of NASW said the purpose of the collaborative town hall was to \u201cput together a concrete and sustainable action plan to protect the citizens of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to start brainstorming some community-based solutions,\u201d Erickson told the crowd of approximately 50 men and women who spoke freely about the North Park crime problem and what ought to be done about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should be able to walk at night without feeling at-risk,\u201d Erickson said.\u00a0 \u201cI have several friends who live in the neighborhood, and we don\u2019t let one another walk alone at night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should go out only in groups \u2014 there\u2019s safety in numbers,\u201d cautioned Katherine Olive, a resident in attendance.<\/p>\n
Kyle Kresse said he was afraid to even let his girlfriend walk the dog at night.<\/p>\n
Sam Ballard, a local artist and North Park resident, said it\u2019s time for the community to take a stand. He\u2019s also involved with Project Lennon, which aims to create multiple Beatles-themed murals throughout North Park in order to promote peace and community awareness.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to be strong and say, \u2018We have crime \u2014 and address it,\u2019\u201d Ballard said.<\/p>\n
There was collective agreement on one point: Nighttime lighting is poor in North Park and needs to be improved.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost pitch black,\u201d testified one woman who said she carried a flashlight with her at night for protection as well as illumination.<\/p>\n
One woman who was allegedly attacked from behind in May and choked by her assailant before he was frightened away, agreed that North Park\u2019s dark alleyways create risk for locals. She added electrical devices like air-conditioners and stereos can often muffle crime victims\u2019 cries. She added that police response times can also be slow on busy nights.<\/p>\n
Others in North Park have similar concerns about lighting. North Park Main Street, a non-profit business improvement organization, recently held a \u201cLighting Survey\u201d on Aug. 5, where residents gathered to identify dangerously dark areas on the streets of North Park.<\/p>\n
Edwin Lohr, who runs the North Park Citizens Patrol, a core group of about a dozen community volunteers who patrol neighborhood streets, said his group is doing the best it can with very limited resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re grateful for this type of meeting, but right now we\u2019re frustrated,\u201d said a tearing-up Lohr. \u201cWe\u2019ve asked for help \u2014 and gotten none.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis [meeting] is a huge step,\u201d continued Lohr, who also serves as president of the North Park Community Association. \u201cWe just need more resources.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lohr said new ideas are being explored to enhance and broaden community patrols including starting a \u201cpooch patrol\u201d enlisting the services of dogwalkers to be used as the community\u2019s eyes and ears looking for criminals.<\/p>\n
One person suggested homeless people in the neighborhood could also be solicited to serve as lookouts, pointing out that they too are at-risk from criminal aggression.<\/p>\n
Lohr likened the problem of resolving criminal assaults to solving a puzzle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can put the puzzle together,\u201d Lohr said. \u201cNorth Park is a beautiful community, a walkable community. That\u2019s why we live here. I love North Park and I want to keep it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
A contingent from a somewhat more colorful group of community \u201cprotectors,\u201d The Midnight Highwaymen, who conceal their identities behind superhero masks and costumes, also attended the town hall and spoke out urging residents to be vigilant against crime.<\/p>\n
Several local residents at the Aug. 9 meeting stressed there are numerous concrete measures \u2014 adding or improving street lighting, beefing up police, creating citizen patrols, public education and self-defense training for women \u2014 that can be done immediately to combat violent crime.<\/p>\n
Others advocated taking a somewhat harder line.<\/p>\n
A man identifying himself only as \u201cLen,\u201d who lives near Lincoln Avenue where a couple of attacks against women have occurred, said he felt the solution was to get tougher on crime. He endorsed putting in street cameras as well as encouraging women to arm themselves with pepper spray or other weapons to protect themselves. Len said he favors strict death penalty and the \u201cthree strikes\u201d law to deter violent crime.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one should be afraid to walk alone in this neighborhood,\u201d said Cecile Veillard on behalf of Take Back The Night, a nonprofit whose mission is to end sexual violence. \u201cI want to be safe in my neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to take back the night,\u201d continued\u00a0Veillard, noting a rally against violent crime has been organized for Friday, Aug. 15 in North Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to meet at 30th Street and University Avenue at 7 p.m. and march to all the [crime] sites over the last several weeks,\u201d Veillard said.<\/p>\n
Near the meeting\u2019s end, the NASW took a vote among guests asking them to approve a brand for the neighborhood\u2019s anti-crime push, as well as a slogan to promote it.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep North Park Safe,\u201d was chosen by the crowd for the group\u2019s anti-crime campaign with \u201cIf you see something, say something,\u201d as the promotional tag line.<\/p>\n
Following the meeting, Wellman distributed an email urging more volunteers to participate in weekwend community watches, or donate money or equipment. He said the group\u2019s main focus would be \u201ctaking back Lincoln Avenue.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ad hoc group vowed to begin convening regularly to counter violent crime, with the next meeting tentatively scheduled for Aug. 30.<\/p>\n
Para m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n visite northparksd.org<\/a>, extremejusticeleague.org<\/a> o correo electr\u00f3nico kurtawellman@gmail.com<\/a>. You may also join the Facebook group, \u201cKeep North Park Safe- If you see something, say something.\u201d<\/p>\n Anyone with information about the attacks is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 or the San Diego Police Department Sex Crimes Unit at 619-531-2210.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dave Schwab |\u00a0Uptown News<\/p>","protected":false},"author":840,"featured_media":247622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"North Park residents unite to fight crime spree","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11550,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-top-stories","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/840"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}