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!
“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/
Roy's Rants - For Your Information 
Lots of people in Pottstown ARE furious. One of the highest crime rates in AMERICA? How did the Police chief get away with this for all the years he’s been here? People say that the morale is so low because the police officers are treated different, (if they don’t brown nose the chief), so he tries to intimidate them and make work miserable. Is that true? That could explain the crime here for one thing. Is he retiring pertty soon? The council would be fools to move the captain up because he’s got attitude issues too. If they’re smart (???? show us a sign) they’ll go for somebody outside not part of the good ol’ boy b.s. here, somebody with real brains and balls. Good bye good riddance, make a clean slate.
Hi Roy, good points. I think the committee that has been established to pick the next Chief of Police would be wise to include representatives from the community and lots of “thinking outside of the box”. Pottstown needs an outsider in this situation. Someone with verifiable experience dealing, creatively with the kinds of issues we face here. We can’t revitalize with crime statistics like this, (it doesn’t matter that the people who live here may or may not be donning their rose colored glasses). This information is widely available on the internet and it does impact prospective residents / business owners decisions to buy property and or raise a family here. These statistics are shameful.
It seems that you are both missing the big picture here. The crime rate in Pottstown is an effect of the deterioration (the cause) that has permeated the community for decades. The deterioration started long before most of the present Pottstown Officers were hired in Pottstown. It seems that the “Rants” should be more appropriately directed at the people responsible for addressing the cause in the first place – prior Borough Councils. In many of the previous years Council did nothing to stem the deterioration and they allowed an environment that attracted negative influences. The Police, under the control of the prior Chiefs and the current Chief, have done a pretty darn good job over the years of keeping the lid on the powder keg. Fortunately, the good news is that the current Manager seems to be steering in the right direction and it looks like Council is supporting his efforts. With strong efforts to eliminate the influences for community deterioration and the continued efforts of the Police Chief and the men and women who serve the community, it is reasonable to conclude that the cause and effect relationship will move in the right direction.
LIKE!
Seriously, cover it in lipstick if you like but you sound like a politician in pink sunglasses.
I have been resisting the urge to comment but like the Borg, resistance is futile.
Nobody said the rank and file in the Pottstown Police Department aren’t doing a good job. It’s the leader that we are finding fault with. I have on many occasions stated that this problem goes back decades. I lived in Pottstown for nearly three decades! Unfortunately, the majority of the current Council is reactionary, not proactive – as in past decades. Blaming things on former councils does nothing to remedy the current problems. Keeping a lid on the powder keg of crime is status quo. Solving the crime problem would be impressive and frankly, for $100,000 I think we need to be freakin’ impressed!
Nobody said Jason Bobst was a problem or even part of the problem. I am a huge Jason Bobst fan! Mr. Toroney, as Council President is another problem. With the exception of Jody Rhoads and Dan Weand, Council is in “status quo” mode. They do what Mr. Toroney wants them to do and vote the way Mr. Toroney wants them to vote. Tow the party line…don’t rock the boat…there is no problem in Pottstown.
Mr. Toroney is Jason’s boss, along with the rest of Council, so Jason can only do so much and go so far. We need to get out of Jason’s way and let him do what he is trained to do. I know he would and could do more if he wasn’t four votes away from being unemployed at any given time for pissing off the wrong people.
That sounds like a pretty good analysis of how we got to where we are. Pointing the finger at councils of yore misses the point that Roy made. Just “keeping the lid on the powder keg” only means that we’re sitting ducks – the lid could blow at any moment then where would Pottstown be? That’s not a comforting analogy. The solutions will only come in the present moment. Taking an honest, hard look at our shortcomings can lead to real solutions. There is an ap for that, it’s called the ULI report, all but forgotten, rarely discussed these days it has valuable information that can set us free. Dust it off and have another look.
What has Mr Bobst done above and beyond his normal reposibilities that you can measure a meaningful improvement in Pottstown?
Not cleaning house when he took manager position is working against him. But if you have a bone to pick run for council. Dead weight holds Pottstown back lazy council and inept department heads in codes and police dept’s the chief spending money on nice wheel rims for his police car, xtra money for fancy suits, morale issues in both departments. Taxpayers need to take a stand before they pick the new chief don’t put up with a prima dona for a chief and don’t offer us another one. The head of codes is ineffective because people were hired based on who they know not what they know can’t afford it, don’t need it.
Seriously, Get you head out of your *^$#. BMax and Roy are both on the right track. Crime may be up in part due to “deterioration” but that deterioration is due to ineffective past AND PRESENT Councils (with the notable exception of a very FEW) who have had their own agends and who have allowed themselves to be led by the nose by a very few “Self Important” persons. The “most powerful man in Pottstown” – in his own estimation – comes immediately to mind. This current Council, especially, is full of dead wood – there is only ONE who actually cares about the residents of Pottstown!! Everyone else has their heads in the same place as yours!! Quit defending that sorry excuse of a Police Chief!! Quit blaming Jason Bobst who, by the way, is doing a great job given the people he has to deal with and report to.
By the way, speaking of ineffectual law enforcement. . . I don’t think the police deal with code and ordinance violations, so this isn’t their problem. I don’t believe. HOWEVER, why is it that a certain resident of Pottstown is allowed to continually violate ordinances without consequences from the Borough, but other Boro residents get cited for stupid stuff like chipped paint on a windowsill? This Boro STINKS!!! THERE is a reason for deterioration!! Who wants to live in a place where there is such inequality?!?!?
I’d like to clarify a bit. It may sound like I am “faulting” all the Police officers in P-town. I’m not. The men and women on our force are doing the best job they can. Every one of them I’ve ever called upon for help has been courteous, thorough and very helpful. I fault the Chief for the terrible morale among the ranks. Anyone who has ever worked knows that if you have a boss who is unbending, discriminatory and abusive it causes extremely low morale among the employees. I had a boss like that, so I understand. Who wants to work for a person like that?? Keep our officers – replace the chief.
There is something very very wrong with that picture. How come nobody’s investigating? Those crime stats are a huge neon sign hanging over the Chief. Can it be more obvious?
What is the Police Chief of West Chester doing right? With nearly identical demographics and a college thrown in, “West Chester crime statistics report an overall downward trend in crime based on data from 11 years with violent crime decreasing and property crime decreasing. Based on this trend, the crime rate in West Chester for 2012 is expected to be lower than in 2009.” Did you do something a while back on this Roy? Maybe you could re-post?
http://www.cityrating.com/crime-statistics/pennsylvania/west-chester.html
I did but I can’t find it 😦
I couldn’t either, not to worry, the information is all over the internet. Wouldn’t it be interesting to talk with their Chief?
Yes, and now that you say that i do remember a comment on that post. Need to find it! Driving me nuts!
I was just up in W.Chester yesterday for mom’s day BELIEVE IT their police chief has it going on. My sister and me stopped downtown to pick up some flowers in about 15 min. we saw 3 bike patrols smiling greeting people like night and day to Pottstown. Good or bad police management is something you cant sweep under the rug so I’m glad SOMEBODY is finally telling the truth in public about Flander’s.
http://www.west-chester.com/section_two.htm
The Community Oriented Policing Unit develops and coordinates projects that positively impact the community. These activities provide for community contact as well as education. A foot patrol and a bicycle unit with ten (10) fully equipped bicycles supplement the existing patrol activity. Bicycle and foot patrols are used to provide accessibility, to maintain a presence and to provide support for police efforts.
Nearly 60% of housing units in the Borough are renter occupied, which creates some special concerns for police. The Housing Partnership was established to have regular interaction between police officers and property owners of these units. The Partnership facilitates communication between property owners and checks backgrounds of prospective tenants, assists in quality of life issues, and provides a landlord training program.
OK, right here we have a substantive discussion of Pottstowns’ predicament, its origins, applicable comparisons to others communities with like demographics, possible remedies, and real research to back it up. So, my question is: Shouldn’t this sort of in depth discussion be happening between actual council members, the police chief and the mayor? And if it is not, why not? Why aren’t THEY furious and tirelessly mining the internet and every other available avenue to find solutions to these problems?
Yes, Lisa. This discussion should be taking place between actual council members, the police chief and the mayor. We all wonder why they are not looking at every available solution and resource. They read this blog and others for starters and many ideas are offered along with resources and contact information which they seem to ignore. It’s boggles the mind!
Hey roach, is Flanders in bed with the slumlords cause it sure seems like it. Put they bad renters in their properties and make Flanders look like the good guy if or when he makes a bust for some press attention. This discusson should be on the street people in every ward have somthing to say about it. They know dead fish when they smell it so talk and talk now quit wasting time and money. Apathy isn’t the problem with people here it’s the problem of council if it’s not that then there’s a whole lotta bs up there. Why only ONE councilman who talks to people all the time no matter where they live? All asses off council. Some of them don’t even try to lean to use the net to get ideas where do they think they live Pottsatucky?
Pingback: Questions of Unethical, Sexual Conduct by Pottstown Police Chief/Interim Borough Manager Mark Flanders |