Citizens Action Committee For Pottstown Schedules Another Public Meeting With Montco District Attorney’s Office

Another meeting with Assistant D.A.’s Kevin Steele and Jason Whalley is set up for June 1st, Pottstown Borough Hall, 100 E. High Street, 3rd floor at 7PM

THE LAST TURN OUT WAS FANTASTIC.  LET’S MAKE IT HAPPEN AGAIN.

Hopefully we will have another great turnout with an active audience.

I would really like to focus in on additional things that the DA/PPD can be doing to help the residents with their efforts.

• A willingness to pursue property forfeiture (landlords renting to drug dealers and other criminals in Pottstown)

• A standardized form for recording and reporting suspicious/criminal activity if there are any other items that you are aware of or that any people that you have been speaking to think we should be pushing for, please comment or message us.

This is a form that we think could be a good choice for Pottstown. When details matter there needs to be a good reporting method for crime.

http://www.accesskansas.org/…/Is%20That%20House%20a%20Drug%…

Pottstown Crime Affected By Shorthanded Department, Increase In Drug Trade

POTTSTOWN, PA – There is a fairly simple reason why violent crime in Pottstown seems to have been on the rise in 2014.

The police were short-handed.

“At the beginning of 2014, we were down by 15 officers,” said Pottstown Police Chief Richard Drumheller.

“As a result, we had to pull people off the drug detail and, not surprisingly, we saw an increase in the drug problem,” he said.

Read more:

http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20150308/pottstown-crime-affected-by-shorthanded-department-increase-in-drug-trade

Special Project: Is Pottstown Becoming More Dangerous?

Editor’s note:  Nice job, Evan.  Make sure you read the whole article because this is a good news, bad news piece.  Crime is still a problem in Pottstown.

POTTSTOWN, PA – Crime is not up in Pottstown, at least not according to the numbers.

Crime in the borough last year was, in nearly all categories, below the borough’s 10-year average, according to a Mercury analysis of crime statistics provided by the Pottstown Police Department.

The numbers of serious crimes like murder, rape and arson have remained relatively flat since 2005, and in addition, the statistics show that 2014 saw 13 percent fewer major crimes and a decrease of more than 16 percent in all reportable crimes.

Pottstown has not had more than two murders per year since 2007.

Read more:

http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20150308/special-project-is-pottstown-becoming-more-dangerous

Meet With The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office

First Assistant District Attorney, Kevin Steele, has responded to a request from a Pottstown resident/businessman to meet with the community regarding the problems of drug dealers and drug houses. This will be an opportunity to engage the District Attorney’s office and to ask questions about how they can work with us to reduce crime.

We will be meeting with Asst. D.A. Jason Whalley.

Because of the importance of this meeting we want thoughtful participation by residents who will take time to familiarize themselves with the PA Drug Nuisance Law and ask relevant questions.

This is NOT a meeting to “bash” law enforcement or dwell on personal experiences.

We are working to build a connection based on trust and communication between the community, the D.A.’s office and local law enforcement.

PLEASE RSVP for this meeting. There could be a change in venue or time but we will update you ASAP with any changes.  To RSVP email ptownadvocates@hotmail.com and put COUNT ME IN in the subject line and put your name in the body of the email along with any other information you want to pass along or questions. You should familiarize yourself with the PA Drug Nuisance Law in order to be able to participate in the discussion.  Here’s the link to the Pennsylvania Drug Nuisance Law:

http://reg.abcsignup.com/files/%7B28C5CDFA-B871-4CC5-9AFB-91D00628F4A4%7D_39/34387/Blight_statutes.pdf