Pittsburgh To Participate In Federal Program To Improve Police-Community Relations

The Justice Department picked Pittsburgh and five other cities as sites for a pilot program intended to test police-community relations strategies and policies, the agency said Thursday.

The agency chose the sites based on factors that include the applicants’ willingness to try ideas and their ability to collect data that would provide a scientific evaluation of methods.

U.S. Attorney David Hickton and Mayor Bill Peduto scheduled a news conference for Friday to discuss Pittsburgh’s role in the initiative.

Pittsburgh applied to become a pilot site, and police Chief Cameron McLay is excited about the opportunity, said Public Safety Department spokeswoman Sonya Toler.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/7958736-74/justice-community-pittsburgh#ixzz3UHoI1PeH
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In North Philly, Community Policing Is At Heart Of Crime Reduction

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

IT WAS ABOUT 8 o’clock Tuesday night, and the chilly, rain-soaked streets of North Philadelphia‘s 39th Police District were nearly empty as Officer Michael Levin’s Crown Vic crept across the blacktop.

But Levin, who usually works in bicycle patrol when weather and circumstances permit, was on the street anyway, keeping a watchful eye on the swaths of North Philadelphia, Nicetown, Germantown and East Falls that make up the district headquartered at 22nd Street and Hunting Park Avenue.

On this night, Levin, 28, a seven-year veteran who’s spent all those years in the 39th, reflected on community policing – a strategy favored by Capt. Michael Craighead, who took command of the district about a year ago.

“Bike patrol is really good for community relations. People come up and thank you. It’s a real good deterrent presence,” Levin said. “The community needs us and we need them.”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20131201_In_North_Philly__community_policing_is_at_heart_of_crime_reduction.html#fFp8Qh2QAz94K1YC.99

Reading Police Department’s Park-And-Walk An Arresting Program

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

Editor’s note:  Pottstown should be using these same policing tactics!

Sharon Hetrick has lived in the 1300 block of Church Street since 1982.

Her neighborhood has undergone many changes in 31 years and right now she said things are pretty good.

Even so, she said she was glad to see Reading Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer come knocking on her door one afternoon recently.  (Hint to Bonnie Heath)

“Right now things are pretty stable.  Except for a couple of vacant houses, everyone takes care of their property,” Hetrick told the mayor and city Patrolmen Andrew Seiler and George Morar.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=494405