20 Responses to “pink is for prostitution”

1. posted by j at May 28, 2008 10:04 pm :
   

   The police made 4 of the 6 busts all within about an hour. Why don’t they do this more often?

2. posted by lynne at May 29, 2008 12:37 am :
   

   so, there is no mention here of any cops on M Street last night. They were blocking the road at 25th and then they were also around 32nd.

3. posted by john_m at May 29, 2008 6:52 am :
   

   so, there is no mention here of any cops on M Street last night.

   I didn’t hear anything about it. Anyone?

   We had adults setting off fireworks the night before last and a screaming&cursing lady at about 5AM this morning. All of that and the seemingly increased numbers of “youth on motor scooters” and “loud radio cars” leads me to surmise that the neighborhood has declared the beginning of summer, whether or not school is out yet.

4. posted by Kathleen at May 29, 2008 8:36 am :
   

   I saw the police at the Blue Wheeler (E Marshall @ N 32nd) last night at about 12:30 a.m. I have no idea what was going on - it was after they usually close at 12 a.m. If anyone knows what the deal was, please post.

5. posted by Crystal at May 29, 2008 8:58 am :
   

   There has been in increase of people thinking Marshall Street continues on down the hill like Clay and Leigh do therefore more noise in an otherwise quiet part of the hood. I think it’s rather funny they can’t seem to read the large bright sign that says its not an outlet.

   Kathleen, sometimes people try to break into the Blue Wheeler, the alarm sounds and police come running so that might have been what happened.

6. posted by Daniel at May 29, 2008 9:44 am :
   

   I saw the cops blocking M street and circled around to see if I could tell what was going on. It looks like it may have been a power line down or something like that… didn’t seem like a criminal thing.

7. posted by Jackie at May 30, 2008 9:58 am :
   

   Well, I can say with some certainty that the prostitutes have moved onto N. 24th with the usual drug dealers. My “favorite” summertime drug dealers on back on my street and their business is booming. What is frustrating is that the police response times when phone calls are made regarding the dealing have dropped. I guess the open air drug market isn’t as important as it use to be.

8. posted by edg at May 30, 2008 10:18 am :
   

   Jackie - just keep calling

9. posted by Crystal at May 30, 2008 1:57 pm :
   

   So how does the police response thing to drug deals work? I used to see them happen all the time on N. 32nd and Marshall and sometimes on N. 32nd and Clay but figured the police can’t do anything about a transaction that took seconds to make and all parties are no longer present after less than 5 minutes.

   Should I call anyway?

   There has been a drastic decrease since the dealers were evicted from the house I used to live next to but every once it a while it still happens.

10. posted by mike at May 30, 2008 2:33 pm :
    

    “What is frustrating is that the police response times when phone calls are made regarding the dealing have dropped. ”

    This frustrates most of the police I talk to as well. This is typically a dispatch problem…

11. posted by edg at May 30, 2008 3:24 pm :
    

    Just call and they will come. They might miss the transaction, but the presence of the police car driving by will run off the dealers. I always call - and I have had officers thank me for doing so.

12. posted by Chimbo at May 30, 2008 3:54 pm :
    

    I have experienced dispatchers who say “what do you want done” when I call in something like this. I have to then instruct them to “have a car drive by the location and check things out”.

    I know that the city has a computer system that tracks calls and maps problem areas, so if you keep calling, eventually, resources might be made available for policing these areas and who knows, there might one day actually be an undercover buy (but dont hold your breath on this one).

    I also suspect that the dispatchers are trying to keep crime statistics down by not logging these non emergency calls.

13. posted by edg at June 2, 2008 4:59 pm :
    

    If I actually see a drug deal go down, I call 911. To me, this is an emergency and it must be handled immediately or else we won’t be able to catch it. And, the officers I have spoken to feel that this is an appropriate use of 911. Why is everyone so afraid of using 911?

14. posted by Jackie at June 3, 2008 7:32 am :
    

    If you call 911 too many times, you will be charged for each call. I forget the number of times, but I was warned about this from a friend who was charged $500 in a month for making 911 calls regarding assualts and drug deals. The last time I used 911 was at Christmas for the two dead kids on my street.
    As for the person who enlightened me to the dispatch problem, thank you! I called several times yesterday due to the high rate of drug dealing on my street and one fight. The first two times I called, I got the same dispatcher and never saw an officer. The last two times I called, I got a different dispatcher and police arrived on scene within minutes (unfortunately, not in time to catch my very slick dealer who has a look out). It amazed me that I could call in an active fight between two men in the middle of a street and not see a single police officer.

15. posted by john_m at June 3, 2008 7:47 am :
    

    It amazed me that I could call in an active fight between two men in the middle of a street and not see a single police officer.

    Tell them that you heard one threaten to kill the other one, or that you think that you saw a knife :)

16. posted by Jackie at June 3, 2008 8:33 am :
    

    Thank you John! ;) I actually just talked to my school resource officer about tips and tricks to make the police show up. He was pretty appaulled by my story.

17. posted by edg at June 3, 2008 9:09 am :
    

    I have never ever had a problem with getting the police to show up. They want us to be involved - they really do - it’s part of community policing.

18. posted by Jackie at June 3, 2008 9:55 am :
    

    EDG-When Hood was in charge of 113, I had great response and communciation with the police and dispatch. In the last year or so, however, police response has been spotty. The guys that did show up last night did a great job searching the area. I was impressed. It seems that the issue may truly lie with dispatch. I will say, however, that it gets old seeing the same dealers every summer selling the hard stuff at all hours.

19. posted by edg at June 3, 2008 9:57 am :
    

    I guess the difference is that when I call in for a fight, I call 911.

20. posted by Jackie at June 3, 2008 10:05 am :
    

    Perhaps that is the difference…but I also don’t want a $500 phone bill. If you haven’t been charged, be aware that it does happen. Aside from that even, if I called 911 for every drug deal that I saw in front of my home, I would tie up the emergency phone line. I called dispatch 4 times last night. I saw upwards of 15 transactions between 8 and 10pm. I saw these transactions plainly enough that I can tell you which pocket the drugs were in and which pocket the money was in. The network of dealers is tight and the warning system is good. I watch the system be employed every time a police unit is within two blocks of the transaction area. Unless we get plain clothes police on the street buying and busting, not much will change. That is what it took the last few times. But we won’t get that if dispatch doesn’t put the calls through and someone doesn’t notice that the area is an open air drug market again.

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