Caltagirone Seeks Funds For Reading’s War On Crime

Shaking a few trees could bear fruit for crime-fighting efforts in the city, state Rep. Thomas R. Caltagirone said Friday.

“I’m on the board of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency,” the Reading Democrat said. “I’m going to make a special appeal to see if there’s any money or different programs available.”

Police Chief William M. Heim said the department would welcome the money.

“We could use it for additional training for our officers, such as investigative and operational seminars, as well as providing supervisory and management training for new sergeants and lieutenants,” he said. “We could also use help to upgrade and replace the laptop computers in our patrol cars to accommodate updated technology.”

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=389138

Man In Hospital After Sunday Night Shooting In Pottstown

Editor’s note:  All is well.  Keep moving.  Nothing to look at here!

http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-southeasternpa/Man-in-hospital-after-burst-of-gunfire-in-Montgomery-Co-Sunday-night/-/121434/13498286/-/13jocrh/-/index.html

Pottstown’s Crime Rate Is A CRIME!

Location of Pottstown in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  I have been harping away on this subject for a very long time.  This article is further evidence of the SERIOUS problem that is keeping Pottstown from moving forward!  The current Chief of Police and Council President should hang their heads in shame.  To think the Chief of Police makes $100,000 (taxpayer funded) and gets these flabbergasting results should make every resident of Pottstown furious!

Pottstown, PA Crime Rate Among Highest in State

“Within Pennsylvania, more than 98% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Pottstown.”

A recent Patch poll asked Pottstown residents what keeps Pottstown from success. With crime ranking among the top concerns, it is worth taking a closer look at just how bad crime is in Pottstown. The results are quite disturbing.

It is important to note that crime is split into two categories – property crime and violent crime. The measure of each is a number of crimes for every 1,000 residents. Property crime consists of burglary, theft, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Violent crime consists of murder, rape, non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon.

According to NeighborhoodScout, a highly ranked real estate search website – “Pottstown has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes.”

Please read the rest of the eye-opening article: http://www.threatcore.com/pottstown-crime/

 

Cops: Theft Of Scrap Metal Becoming An Epidemic

Cops: Theft of scrap metal becoming an epidemic

The cases make the news with frequency.

Last month, a thief stole copper piping from a Moosic Street home owned by the wife of the late former Scranton Police Chief James Klee.

There are houses that have flooded when thieves tore out copper piping. A man whose electrocuted body was found under a utility pole in Wright Twp. was killed trying to steal aluminum from power lines.

In November, Dunmore police arrested a Scranton man who twice broke into a PPL Electric Utilities plant on Larch Street to steal copper wire.

Police say that scrap-metal thefts have become an “epidemic” that is hard to fight.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/cops-theft-of-scrap-metal-becoming-an-epidemic-1.1308108#ixzz1tXMxrKVO

Muhlenberg Woman Beaten By Daughter With Meat Tenderizing Mallet

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lehigh County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Nothing says I love you Mom like a couple whacks with a mallet!  WTH!

A 79-year-old Muhlenberg Township woman was beaten by her 55-year-old daughter with a meat tenderizing mallet in the daughter’s Lehigh County residence, state police said Tuesday.

Teresa Kauffman was taken by ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital, near Allentown, for injuries suffered in the attack early Monday morning in the Lower Macungie Township home, investigators said.

A hospital spokeswoman said Kauffman was in fair condition Tuesday.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/Article.aspx?id=381669

City Of Reading Needs More Cops, Police Chief Warns

Despite needing 174 officers this year and budgeting for 168, the Reading Police Department has fewer than 140 officers able to do their full jobs, Police Chief William M. Heim told City Council on Monday.

And the Reading Fire Department is down seven firefighters from its already pared force – a gap being filled by mandatory overtime because the firefighters are too tired to volunteer for it – acting Fire Chief Jeffrey Squibb said.

Mass retirements have plagued both departments, and council asked the chiefs what their needs were for the city’s safety. The question was partly a reaction to council’s earlier, grudging approval of two new hires for the mayor’s office.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=380219

It’s Shooting Season In Pottstown – Warm Weather Brings Increase In Crime

Location of Pottstown in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What exactly does it take before the powers that be take Pottstown‘s out of control crime rate seriously and do something about it?  Is this sorry state of affairs the best the citizens and taxpayers of Pottstown can hope for?

Maybe outsourcing the police department needs to be a consideration.  $3 million dollars a year is a great deal of money to spend for a crime rate equal to Philadelphia and Reading!   Hell, hire the PA State Police or the National Guard.  I bet you’d get results then!  How does a 5 square mile borough with slightly more than 22,000 people end up in this condition?  Poor leadership!

Granted, one has to wonder what two people are doing standing in Buttonwood alley at 4am.  We all know Buttonwood Alley is a high incident area so why aren’t we being proactive and doing something to crack down on crime once and for all!?!  SEND A MESSAGE THAT WE WON’T TOLERATE THIS BEHAVIOR IN POTTSTOWN!

Numerous larger cities in Pennsylvania have a lower crime rate than Pottstown, as I have spelled out in earlier posts.  What about surveillance cameras???  What about crime tracking software???  Again, can we say PROACTIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  There are grants out there!

The next Chief of Police needs to be tough on crime.  The current highly paid top cop shrugs his shoulders and blames Pottstown’s crime problem on its location between Reading and Philadelphia.  No other towns along 422 have a crime rate anywhere near Pottstown (except Norristown – like that’s something to aspire to?????)  And why is that?  For $100,000 dollars a year I think the taxpayers of Pottstown should expect certain results and there needs to be accountability from a department head.  Maybe if the people who make these big municipal salaries had to live in Pottstown they might care more about what goes on after 5pm when they take their pay check and leave town!

Here’s the latest news from the Fishwrap about Sunday morning’s double shooting in Buttonwood Alley: http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20120415/NEWS01/120419669/update-police-id-mom-and-son-shot-in-pottstown-(video)

Reading, PA To Nearly Double Number Of Street Cameras

Two Roy’s Rants thumbs up!  Reading is being proactive on crime and blight!  Make sure you read the rest of the article, especially Pottstown Borough Council and leadership!

Image via Wikipedia

City Council on Monday agreed to expand Reading’s security camera system, awarding a $650,000 contract to New York-based Let’s Think Wireless to add 20 or more cameras to the 27 the city already has.

Cameras in the first phase are mostly downtown, but the new cameras will be installed in other areas of the city, Police Chief William M. Heim said.

The new cameras also will connect wirelessly to City Hall monitoring stations, rather than via the fiber-optic links used by the current cameras.

“What we have so far has worked very well,” Heim said.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=370765

Carjacking Suspect Has History Of Stealing Lobsters, Fine Meats

Image via Wikipedia

Editor’s note:  This is what’s known as having champagne taste and a beer pocketbook/wallet with a healthy dose of stupid thrown in for good measure!  Lock him up and thrown away the KEY!

It didn’t take long for employees at a Weis Kings Market in west Allentown to realize they had a lobster thief in their grocery store Thursday afternoon.

Charles A. Shumanis III, who was arrested Thursday after police say he carjacked a man in South Whitehall following a botched retail theft attempt at the supermarket, had been charged the week before with stealing more than $160 worth of lobsters from the store, according to court documents.

Hours after allegedly stealing from the market Feb. 23, Shumanis went to the Wegmans, 3900 Tilghman St., where he took $150 worth of meat, according to court documents.

Shumanis already had four prior retail theft convictions, making the fifth and sixth retail theft charges on Feb. 23 felonies, police said. He added a seventh charge Thursday, to go along with more serious charges of carjacking a man and dragging him 50 feet in the Friendly’s Restaurant parking lot in South Whitehall.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-carjacking-suspect-history-stealing-lobsters-me-20120302,0,7455738.story

Easton Mayor Applauds Crime Reduction, Economic Development

Image via Wikipedia

Editor’s note:  Will we ever see a headline like this with POTTSTOWN in it?????

Mayor Sal Panto Jr. believes there is much to applaud in Easton, Pa. — a falling crime rate, promising redevelopment projects — but also much yet to do.

Panto outlined his vision for 2012, and mentioned some of the successes of 2011, in a “state of the city” speech Wednesday night before City Council, noting an 11 percent drop in crime overall, and a 37 percent drip in violent crime since 2006.

“Easton is becoming safer for families,” Panto said.

It is a theme he has stuck with in the march to redevelop the downtown into a place to work, eat and live, not just visit from time to time. Panto talked in the speech of a 24/7 downtown, which he said can only happen with new development drawing in full-time residents.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-state-of-the-city-20120222,0,5829329.story

Nude Man Tasered At Exton Walmart

Only at Walmart

WEST WHITELAND TOWNSHIP, PA— Police were called to the scene of the Exton Walmart Wednesday evening after a man entered the store fully nude, according to police reports.

Police say Verdon Lamont Taylor, 32, of Downingtown, parked his vehicle outside the store and then stripped off all his clothing before he entered the store and approached the customer service desk. Taylor allegedly stole a pair of socks and put them on before walking deeper into the store, police said.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/article/20120217/NEWS03/120219694/1007/NEWS

State Police Commissioner: Barracks Closures Could Happen

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police says the closure of a pair of dispatch centers will add 100 troopers to patrol but some barracks may have to be closed in the future while the force deals with increased responsibilities.

Commissioner Frank Noonan told a state Senate appropriations panel Thursday that the force will still be 10 percent below its full complement even after a new cadet class graduates this summer.

Read more: http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120217/NEWS90/120219776/-1/rss01

Boyertown Man Charged In Alsace Killing

Image via Wikipedia

Is there something in the air or water around here lately???

A Boyertown man was arrested at his home Friday about six hours after state police say he fatally shot a friend during an argument at an Alsace Township home.

Robert W. Pfanders Jr., 25, of the 300 block of East Third Street surrendered to troopers who surrounded his residence about 9:30 a.m., investigators said.

He was committed to Berks County Prison without bail following arraignment before District Judge Kim Bagenstose late Friday on homicide charges. He told the judge at Reading Central Court that he is single and a landscaper.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=364663

Gunfire Reported In Standoff At Pottstown Apartment Complex

Image via Wikipedia

A woman huddling in a home basement near where Pottstown police are engaged in a standoff with an apartment dweller has told her husband she heard “a ton of gunshots” this afternoon.

“My wife just heard a ton of gunshots,” John Shoen, pool manager of the Mary Robin Brigham Aquatic Center in Berwyn, e-mailed at 3:24 p.m. today. “She is on Logan Street in the basement of my sister’s house with my son. She called me on her cellphone crying.”

Shoen said his wife and son were in the basement at 713 Logan, maybe five or 10 houses from the Logan Square Apartments where the standoff was occurring.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20120209_Police_stand-off_with_barricaded_man_in_Montco.html

No Bond For Pennsylvania Man Arrested At Hard Rock, Found In Murder Victim’s Car

A man who is wanted in connection with the killing of his girlfriend in Pottstown, Pennsylvania has been ordered held without bond pending his extradition.

Edwin Carrero, 32, had his initial court appearance Wednesday morning.  He’s wanted in the murder of 31-year-old Alicia Schmidt and also charged with grand theft auto.

He was arrested Tuesday at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood after a Seminole Tribal police officer said he noticed Carrero acting suspiciously and “rummaging” through the back of a Volkswagen Jetta.

Read more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-hard-rock-arrest-folo-20120208,0,2275282.story

Pottstown – Crime vs. Revitalization

Pottstown had a murder this week.  Based on information found in the newspaper, the home is owned by a company in Exton.  Enough said.

I have been quiet about crime lately because I feel it falls on deaf ears.  However, if we think people don’t investigate crime rates before deciding to relocate to a specific community we would be naïve.  That goes for business as well.  We keep talking about how Pottstown is going to revitalize but it’s not happening.  A great big problem aka the elephant in the room is the crime rate and the horrible reputation this community has in the outside world.  Yes, life does exist beyond the borough lines and people do pay attention to what happens here.  An UGG BOOTS ban in the Pottstown Middle School made the national news.

Pottstown’s crime rate went up drastically between 2009 and 2010.  Our city-data.com score rose from 456.6 to 535.6.  The U.S. average is 319.1.  Pottstown’s crime rate is significantly higher (BAD).  As a matter of fact, it was higher than many of the largest cities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2010.  Yes, you read that correctly!

City                                Population       Crime Index

Allentown, PA             118,032 (2010)    City-Data Crime Index – 476.5 (2010)

Bethlehem, PA              74,982 (2010)    City-Data Crime Index – 236.1 (2010)

Lancaster, PA               59,433 (2010)    City-Data Crime Index – 519.4 (2010)

York, PA                        44,718 (2010)    City-Data Crime Index – 582.4 (2010)

Scranton, PA                76,089 (2010)    City-Data Crime Index – 275.4 (2010)

Philadelphia, PA      1,526,006 (2010)    City-Data Crime Index – 567.7 (2010)

Pittsburgh, PA             305,704 (2010)    City-Data Crime Index – 411.3 (2010)

Erie, PA                      101,786 (2010)    City-Data Crime Index – 347.4 (2010)

Reading, PA                 88,082 (2010)    City-Data Crime Index – 548.3 (2010)

Harrisburg, PA              49,528 (2010)    City-Data Crime Index – 721.6 (2010)

POTTSTOWN, PA         22,377 (2010)    City-Data Crime Index – 535.6 (2010)

I find this evidence both appalling and disgraceful.  Pottstown was the 74^th largest municipality in Pennsylvania as of the 2010 census.  We should not have higher crime than six of the major cities in this state.  We are below Philadelphia and Reading, but not by much! Harrisburg is evidently in a class by itself!

My point being, this information is very easy to find.  Millions of people use sites like City-data.com to research communities before moving to or investing in them.  So borough leadership, what exactly is the game plan to correct Pottstown’s out of control crime problem?  Ignoring the problem is not a solution!

Somebody better get a clue, like yesterday!

Pottstown Murder Victim Identified

Image via Wikipedia

(UPDATE 11:49 a.m.) POTTSTOWN — The identity of the woman found dead inside her 424 Cherry St. residence this morning has been confirmed by sources as Alicia Schmidt.

Sources say investigators still do not have the suspect in custody.

Read more: http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2012/02/02/springford_reporter_valley_item/news/doc4f2ac49bda6a3096207572.txt?nstrack=sid:16092949|met:300|cat:0|order:3

Yet Another Copper Thief – Caught Stealing From Amtrak

Image via Wikipedia

WEST CHESTER, PA — A father of four who struggles with a heroin addiction told a Common Pleas Court judge that he planned to pay back thousands of dollars he owes Amtrak for stealing copper wire from the railroad’s Philadelphia to Harrisburg line, but he did not say how.

William James Stauffer, 29, of Honey Brook pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of theft by unlawful taking and criminal mischief for the December 2010 theft about 800 pounds of copper electrical wire. In addition to a prison term of six to 23 months in Chester County prison and three years of probation, he was ordered to pay $28,650 to the railroad for the cost of the wire and the considerable disruption its loss caused operations along the line.

“As soon as I get back home, I’d like to get back to work,” Stauffer told Jude William Mahon, who accepted the plea agreement between the prosecution and Stauffer’s attorney. “I want to give it 100 percent to pay my restitution, and to keep my nose clean.

Read more: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2012/01/23/news/srv0000016938238.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Copper Thieves Getting More Brazen, Causing Major Damage

Image via Wikipedia

State police said someone broke into a Hanover Township, Lehigh County, youth treatment facility and pulled security cameras off the walls, stole copper pipes and caused significant flooding inside.

The burglary happened sometime between Dec. 1 and Friday, according to the news release. State police said the flooding damage and stolen property is estimated at $20,000.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-east-allen-copper-theft-public-welfare-20120110,0,6064875.story

24/7 Wall Street’s Best And Worst Run Cities List

Image via Wikipedia

Editor’s note: No city in Pennsylvania made either list.

According to 24/7 Wall Street the best run city in America is Virginia Beach, VA.  This city of 439,172 residents has a Aaa credit rating, a low crime rate, a low poverty rate and 93.1 percent of the adult population have graduated from high school.  These among other factors catapulted Virginia Beach to the top of the list.  Irvine, CA and Madison, WI rounded out the top three.

On the other end of the spectrum (definitely the list you DO NOT want to be on) is Miami, FL.  This city of 400,892 people has a high crime rate, a high poverty rate and a very low percentage of adults who graduated from high school (68.2 percent).  Other members of the wall of shame are Detriot, MI, Newark, NJ. and Cleveland, OH.