Project Safe Neighborhoods

Project Safe Neighborhoods is a national program sponsored by the United States Department of Justice to reduce gun crime. In 2004, the Lincoln Police Department applied for and received a small grant to implement a multi-pronged strategy, consisting of close supervision of parolees and probationers, saturation enforcement, and undercover details in a small area of southwest Lincoln. We have continued to receive these small grants for four years. You can read a little more about our strategy on page 15 of our 2004 Annual Report.

Friday night/Saturday morning, we conducted our 45th Project Safe Neighborhoods detail. Sgt. Don Scheinost from my Management Services staff, organizes and supervises these projects. He assembled a group of 15 officers, 2 parole officers, 2 adult probation officers, and 2 juvenile probation officers. Six officers were teamed with the probation/parole officers and conducted home visits of people in the target area on parole or probation. Sgts. Mike Basset and Tim Kennett led the five-person undercover detail, and the remaining officers were assigned to saturation patrol and enforcement.

The detail kicked off with a 5:00 PM briefing at headquarters. The officers working on Project Safe Neighborhood details are all on overtime, supplementing the on-duty staff. This really allows us to concentrate some resources intensely in areas where the extra help is most needed. PSN works in two areas in southwest Lincoln that have the densest concentration of the kinds of gun-related crime the these projects are meant to suppress. The PSN target area overlaps the Stronger Safer Neighborhoods project area where we are also working more holistically on a variety of fronts to improve conditions.

Although Friday night's weather was less than ideal, the PSN detail had a productive night--something we have come to expect from this project. The pandering arrests I referred to in Monday's post resulted from the PSN undercover detail. The probation/parole/police officer teams and the saturation patrol and enforcement details both had good success. Overall this is what the detail produced:

64 home visits
9 probation/parole searches
5 probationers/parolees tested for drugs or alcohol
3 probation/parole violations
25 official traffic citations
46 traffic warning citations
3 driving during suspension arrests
33 misdemeanor arrests (17 narcotics related/16 other)
1 felony Arrest-Forgery
3 felony arrests - Pandering
4 warrant arrests (misdemeanor)

That's excellent productivity by a group of motivated police, probation, and parole officers who laid it on the line to help keep this City safe. Anyone who thinks this work is easy is sorely mistaken. It takes determination and courage to make a difference.

Good police work, 2008 style

Back when Case Number 1 was successfully prosecuted, good investigative work was characterized by a sharp eye, an intuitive mind, a good memory, an active work style, and great interpersonal skills. Not much has changed in the ensuing 140 years.

In 2008, though, a few other things contribute to investigations. Automated fingerprint identification systems, relational databases, sophisticated communications systems, DNA testing, and the Internet all come immediately to mind. Another contributor is the rapid proliferation of video surveillance systems. As I have mentioned previously, you and I are increasingly in the field of view of a large and growing number of cameras every day.

An excellent example of the merger of modern technology and good old-fashioned police work occurred over the weekend, when Officer Jeff Hanson arrested the men responsible for an armed robbery that occurred last Thursday. The victim was approached by two suspects who brandished a gun and relieved him of his wallet, watch, and cash.

The suspects and their vehicle were captured by a surveillance camera at the University of Nebraska. Although the scene was rather dark, comparing the video to images from Edmunds.com, we were able to determine that the vehicle was in all likelihood a late 1990's Chevrolet Lumina. A representative photo of the body style was included in all of our daily gotomeeting.com web-cast roll call briefings on Thursday and Friday.

Officer Hanson saw those images on the 50" monitor across town at the Northeast Team Substation during briefing at the beginning of his shift when he reported to duty on both Thursday and Friday night. Shortly after midnight on Saturday morning, he spotted the suspect vehicle with matching passengers several miles away in northeast Lincoln. Further investigation produced more evidence connecting three suspects to this crime. This was good heads-up police work, with a little technical assistance from a CCTV system and the Internet.

Tulips up

The evidence is in. Spring has arrived at last. It's a couple weeks late this year, but the tulips are up, the flowering trees in bloom, the garden centers are crowded, and the grass has to be mowed three times a week.

The watchful citizen

The inscription above the main entrance to Nebraska's beautiful art deco State Capitol reads: "The Salvation of the State is Watchfulness in the Citizen." That's the whole idea behind neighborhood watch: residents will recognize and report suspicious activity more readily if they know one another, and will deter crime by their watchfulness.

Lincoln's a good city for neighborhood watch: there is a high level of civic involvement generally, a strong population of long-term stakeholders, and very positive police-community relations. We have a large number of households that belong to neighborhood watch groups--over 19,000. Some neighborhood watch groups met once and are rather inactive, others are conscientious about keeping up their own phone lists, sponsoring National Night Out events, distributing newsletters, and otherwise maintaining a level of activity and involvement beyond the initial meeting.

Wednesday, a graduate student contacted me. He is working on a project to create an index of social capital. Among the data sources he is examining as part of this index is participation in neighborhood watch. I had never actually examined the geographic distribution of neighborhood watch membership in Lincoln, although I had a pretty good idea about the pattern it would show when displayed on a map. I geocoded the records, and here is the result, overlaid against the hotspots for crime in Lincoln (click to enlarge):


For the most part, neighborhood watch groups are most common in areas where there is comparatively little crime. This is not cause-and-effect, rather, neighborhoods with high home ownership, long term residency rates, and relative economic strength are more likely to organize. Some of our most fragile neighborhoods from a crime standpoint have very few neighborhood watch groups. It is probably for this reason that the evidence on the effectiveness of neighborhood watch is not strong: you're most likely to have it where you are least likely to need it. Personally, I think active NW groups are a great way to build and sustain neighborhoods. I salute those citizens who are willing to step up and organize their block, and I wish we had more of them in the places where greater collective efficacy could really make a difference.

Just a little bit about the method here: the dots are actually a representation of the relative density of neighborhood watch members--not the individual members themselves. The yellow-to red weather-map-like density of crime was created from all crime types except those occurring at businesses. When you include businesses, retail crime like forgery and shoplifting skews things hugely towards the retail centers.

From the mouths of babes

A few times every week something happens that reminds me how much I enjoy my work, and how fortunate I am to have a calling in life. Last week, two boxes of cookies were dropped off at headquarters from the Eager Beavers, the children at Piedmont Park Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The half-life of a homemade cookie in the LPD assembly room is, well, short. I didn't move quickly enough, but the boxes stuffed with red tissue paper, the poster thanking police officers for helping God do His work, and the brightly-colored constrution paper cards from the kids were the real treat.


Inside each card, the children had listed a few reasons they were thankful for police officers. It looked like some kids got a little penmenship help from grown ups, but they were all sincere and precious. Det. Sgt. Erin Sims pointed out the gem--this message from a little one who shall remain nameless in order to protect her lead-footed parent:

"Thank you for always being around the corner to stop speeders like my mom."

Back to the future

Remember my past post, Stump the sergeant? Sunday, City Councilman Jonathan Cook sent me this email:

Chief,

Can you please reply to the individual below as to how City or State law would need to be changed to accommodate such vehicles? I'd also be interested in your opinion about any safety or other issues that concern you regarding these vehicles. I don't know if other council members received the same e-mail, but I would guess some or all did, so please copy the council office on your reply.

Thank you.

Jonathan Cook

The "individual below" the Councilman refers to is a local resident interested in acquiring a Zap Xebra. She had contacted the dealer in Kansas, who advised her that he had been informed these vehicles are illegal in Lincoln. The prospective customer was seeking the Councilman's help in changing the law to allow such a vehicle. I'm not sure who this dealer actually talked to, but from the information in the chain of emails, it appeared that whoever it was had interpreted the City and State laws concerning "minibikes" as applying to this vehicle. I think that is not accurate, and I emailed the citizen (and Councilman Cook) back:

Councilman Cook asked me to respond to your email concerning the Xebra. The rapid and recent proliferation of alternative vehicles of various types has greatly complicated the task of determining which are legal for operation on the street and which are not. The Nebraska Statutes on such issues are lengthy and complex, and there are vehicles today that were never anticipated at the time these cumbersome definitions were adopted. You will probably get a variety of opinions from law enforcement officers when you ask about this vehicle.

I believe, however, that the 3-wheeled Xebra meets both the State Statute and City Ordinance definitions of a motorcycle, and hence, could be lawfully titled, registered, and driven on the street by a person who holds a Class M (motorcycle) operator's license and wears the required DOT-approved helmet. The vehicle is quite similar to the Cushman Truckster, which was manufactured here in Lincoln for a few decades, and driven by dozens of Lincoln police personnel. I still have about ten employees who spent some significant time in a three-wheeled police Cushman prior to the demise of the product in the 1980's.

The 14-inch wheel specification referred to in this chain of emails is based on the definitions in both State Statute and Municipal Ordinance of "minibikes." That definition, however, also specifically states that a minibike has two wheels. Since this vehicle has three wheels, I do not believe that it is a minibike.

Nevertheless, I am not a lawyer. I would not invest in one of these vehicles unless I had solid confirmation from the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles that the vehicle is street legal, and can be registered and licensed. Personally, I'd want something in writing, because I imagine that County Clerks are as confused about this as police officers.

Regards,

Tom Casady
Chief of Police
Lincoln Police Department
575 S. 10th Street
Lincoln, NE 68508
402.441.7237
mailto:tcasady@lincoln.ne.gov

I'm not sure you could get a straight answer from the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles about the Zap Xebra. They may be confused, too. Nonetheless, I can absolutely guarantee you that a group of quite experienced Lincoln police employees who still work here drove registered and licensed three-wheel Cushman Trucksters just like these when Clair, Sid, Ray, Doug, Dave A., Larry, Dave B., Greg, Scott, and Mark were police cadets. They had motorcycle operators' licenses and wore helmets. And I may be missing a few Cushman veterans. Anyone recognize the street in this 1970's advertisement? How about this one from the late 1980's or very early 1990's?

Too slow

I got a kick out of this letter to the editor published in the Lincoln Journal Star late last week:

Terrible drivers in Lincoln

I have driven in lots of cities all across the country and never have I seen worse drivers than I see in Lincoln.

First off, it does not help that the city’s engineers have done a terrible job as far as making traffic flow smoothly. Most of the time, you are made to stop at each light on your journey, which jams up traffic. Add that to drivers who are yakking on cell phones and sit there for 10 seconds after the light turns green before they bother to move, and driving across town is a nightmare.

Lincoln drivers do not get the concept that slower traffic should keep to the right. You have slow drivers in the passing lane, slowing up the progress of others. Cars will often drive side by side for blocks well below the speed limit, not allowing faster traffic to pass. Most drivers drive well below the speed limit, which makes them and other cars miss stoplights that they should make if they were driving the right speed. It’s a joke that I can drive to Omaha faster than I can drive across town and back.

I am shocked that Lincoln police write any speeding tickets, because 98 percent of the cars I see are driving below the speed limit!

Jeff Richardson, Lincoln

There you have it, someone complaining that people in Lincoln drive too slow. Traffic has been a regular topic in The Chief's Corner, and I've dealt with the issue of "worst drivers" before. There is nothing--absolutely nothing--people complain to me more about than driving. This complaint that people are driving too slow and impeding progress, however, is definitely a first, and the opposite of what I usually hear.

Never even asked!

From yesterday's inbox:

I would just like to voice my opinion that I find it unfair that an officer gives a person a ticket for speeding without asking the reason why they were going above the speed limit, or even having a conversation about it. The interaction I had tonight was a joke; no, on second thought, it was rude. What a surprise from a law enforcement official! Keep on protecting and serving, you're doing a great job using those hiding places on speed violations instead of meth houses and communities full of rapists!!!

I know, I know, I've blogged about this issue before, but I thought this complaint that we failed to ask why the driver why he was speeding was a novel approach. I think we could come up with an interesting list of excuses we've heard.