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I'm Cally Crossley This is the Cali Crossley Show the old saying goes in times of trouble. Leniency becomes a crime. But here in the Commonwealth it's quite the opposite in times of trouble. Vigilance is virtue. In the last year there's been a surge of Bay Staters banding together to form crime watches at about a rate of one per week. Using webcam cell phones and online communities a civic spirit is sweeping the state with citizens taking back the streets. And the good news is it's working. Apart from homicides crime is down and that's in part due to the community stepping up and the police stepping in. This hour we'll meet the folks behind these neighborhood initiatives. But first it's an in-depth look at what's often at the root of crime. Loopholes in gun laws. A new investigative report tracks down how guns from other states are making their way to our city's streets. Up next on the block from Gluck's to Crimewatch. First the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Lakshmi Singh. Chinese President Hu

Jintao got a red carpet welcome at the White House today with a color guard and a 21 gun salute. As NPR's Mara Liasson reports the two leaders will try to make progress on the issue of trade human rights and China's growing military ambitions. President Obama welcomed Hu saying the two countries have an enormous stake in each other's futures. But he also prodded China on its human rights record. History shows that societies are more. Harmonious. Nations are more successful and the world is more just when the rights and responsibilities of all nations and all people. Are upheld. Including the universal rights of every human being. But who is speaking through an interpreter pushed back. I'll cope racialist populous should be based on mutual respect. Will leave in an increasingly diverse and colorful wode China and United States should respect each other's choice of development path and each of us coal interests and that in a very polite diplomatic way means back

off. Mara Liasson NPR News the White House. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut says he is retiring he was addressing reporters moments ago to say that he would not seek a fifth term next year. The latest numbers on the housing market show a decline in new home construction last month but NPR's Chris Arnold tells us there was a surge in building permits which might mean that home construction could pick up soon. This latest report showed that things didn't get any better for homebuilders at the end of 2010. But some economists are hopeful about the increase in building permits. Pat Newport is a housing economist with IHS Global Insight. Single family permits which I think is the key number in this release because it's a tip. Never because it's forward looking. So overall I think it was a good report even though the housing search numbers were down pick up and construction would be good for the economy because it would mean more jobs for construction workers and more business for all the companies that make appliances and windows even lawnmowers

and everything else that often goes along with buying a new home. Chris Arnold NPR News. A proposal to repeal the health care law enacted last year comes up for a vote in the House later today. Debate is underway with Republicans arguing the sweeping health care measures are too costly for a still weak economy. However President Obama argues the U.S. cannot afford not to change a system that he has long said has been pulling the country deeper into debt for years. At last check on Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 17 points at eleven thousand eight hundred twenty one in trading of just over 2 billion shares. Nasdaq composite index off thirty four twenty seven thirty two with the S&P 500 down 12 a Twelve eighty three. This is NPR News. The African Union mediator in Ivory Coast has cut short his latest trip to the West African nation saying there has been no breakthrough in the political deadlock.

NPR's Ofeibea Quist Arkan reports this is the latest failed mediation mission over November's disputed election. Kenya's prime minister Raila Odinga will send back to Ivory Coast this week by the African Union for further talks with the sit tight incumbent and his presidential rival. Speaking at the airport before he flew out or doing that told journalists that despite late night discussions he again failed to peacefully resolve the crisis over who is president the mediator warns time is running out and repeated the threat of more sanctions on the part. Will use of force to unseat Bibo who's widely considered to have lost November's presidential vote or says he to include allies in any cabinet he forms as president to give the outgoing leader own Quetta Shura nces about his future security officer. NPR news DECA. In Iraq a search is underway for more possible victims of a suicide bombing in Bakuba that killed at least 12 people today and wounded more than 50 others.

Police in the city that's northeast of the Iraqi capital say the attack was carried out by two people. The first gunned down security guards outside a training center allowing a second person to drive an explosive filled ambulance into the site. A short time later a suicide bomber attack she had pilgrims on a road between Bakuba and Baghdad. At least one person died. FBI is investigating details of a bomb found during a holiday parade in Spokane Washington Monday the device was defused. No one was hurt. This is NPR News. Support for NPR comes from the doors do charitable foundation supporting the performing arts environmentalists conservation better car research and the prevention of child abuse. Good afternoon I'm Kelly Crossley. This is the Calla Crossley Show this hour we're taking a look at crime in the Commonwealth. We're kicking off the conversation with a look at how illegal guns are making their way to our city's streets. Joining me to discuss this is Steven

correction. He recently wrote a piece on this issue for the Dorchester Reporter. He's a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter and a fellow for the initiative for Investigative Reporting at Northeastern School of Journalism. Also with us is Pat Terence you know he co-wrote the piece in the Dorchester Reporter. He's currently a reporter for the initiative for Investigative Reporting at Northeastern School of Journalism. Welcome to you both. Thank you. Thank you for having Thank you. So let me begin this way so 85 guns per 100 people in the United States and in Boston. 80 percent of the gun violence takes place takes place in roughly three neighborhoods. So the foundation of a lot of the violence and crime going on that has been reported widely is really these guns. Right. And we learn from your report which listeners is entitle feds bust and cops team up to get illegal guns off the streets. Tiny but potent Taurus pistols are the key focus of the search. So we learn from this investigative piece about how these guns are

getting into the hands of the criminals and the shooters. So listeners I'm going to ask Steven to give us an overall sum up of the piece because essentially what you did was trace the guns which came from out of state into the hands of the folks who use them in Massachusetts. Right. The loopholes that we focused on which are really three major ones. A well know what this piece did was drive home the impact of those loopholes in our neighborhoods in the neighborhoods in the most important to us. Let me just stop you right there well-known by home well and a gun can anyone who has studied the issue of gun control at the national level in the state level will know that our gun control has strange very lax here in the United States. But that has real impact that has impact in Dorchester that has extraordinary a pack a matchup in Dorchester in Roxbury and what this piece did was show with

real cases what that impact how to measure that impact in what we started with was a case that Pat had found was in in three or four people had been indicted in Atlanta by the federal grand jury in Atlanta for a straw purchase of 18 very powerful small very dangerous Taurus handguns that found their way within weeks to Boston to Dorchester and were being used in stick ups in gang violence. Let's explain what a straw purchase is. Yes that's one of the loopholes a straw purchase allows anyone who doesn't have is not a felon or has recently left a mental institution to buy without any any background checks to purchase a gun in 37 states throughout the country. And in this case the two men who wanted to buy because they're in the business of trafficking firearms wanted to buy these guns because they had a market up here in

Boston. They had felony records. So they got two girlfriends. You know two young women who grew girlfriends of theirs in Georgia to buy these weapons giving them the money. Picking out showing them which weapons to buy then turning the guns over to these guys and then these guys facilitating the shipment up here to Boston and within weeks being used in Dorchester. It's the loopholes are so gaping in the effects so extraordinary that I came away as a seasoned journalist saying isn't anybody watching this isn't anybody caring about this and that's why I convinced my editors with our initiative at the Dorchester Reporter with whom we did the story. This is really matters that has real effect on this which we pressed on with I want to go now. Now Pat were you as surprised as Steven Steven has many years as you just said doing this but he was still surprised to see how this takes place. Were you as well. I was shocked but at the same time I've spent some time on my own

researching gun laws throughout the country and it's just something that I've spent a little bit of time researching and the unevenness in laws state by state. I've always believed and this report confirmed to a considerable degree was that. An even gun laws allow for states to withhold guns from certain people however there's still going to be that demand someone will cash in on that demand and if there's profit to be made it will be by trafficking guns from states with looser restrictions like New Hampshire Vermont Georgia Maine and passing those guns onto our streets in Boston which if the gun trafficking didn't exist would be considerably safer. Speaking is Terence you know he's a reporter for the initiative for Investigative Reporting at Northeastern school of journalists. He's here with Stephen Kurkjian and both of them did a very intensive investigative report tracing the

guns from Georgia into the hands of criminals. It right here in Boston. Now let me go back to something you said. You said you researched the gun laws and the UN even this. Give us a sense of what you mean by on even this. OK well for example in Massachusetts there is a strict set of weapons that can be purchased legally and owned within the state without some sort of special federal or state separation I guess of it. So. Massachusetts does not allow for large capacity magazines the types of things that would be commonly used in crimes. The kind of magazine that was used in the days leading two sides aired last night. OK and by that we mean he had 31 rounds and that in that clip he had 31 rounds which means he was able to hurt a considerably larger number of people in a short period of time. Something that criminals willing to shoot other people are obviously going to be looking for. And in Massachusetts that is not allowed not allowed no. So what would be the limit. I mean I don't know

how many rounds you get messages. I honestly can't give you an exact number. However most I would say most handguns are limited to about 15 rounds so a large capacity would be double that capacity. Now outside of Massachusetts nearby New Hampshire and Vermont you can legally purchase those. With no additional paperwork and obviously if youre that close to Massachusetts and theres a demand in Massachusetts to legally traffic those magazines and assault weapons as we saw in an earlier arrest this week those guns will find their way to our streets at a considerable profit to the people breaking the law. Well that leads me to a question to both of you. Why didn't these people who went to Georgia just get in from New Hampshire it's closer they could have but the other people in this little cabal they were all from Georgia and they must have had a connection up here in Massachusetts.

That has not been revealed yet as to how the connection work that they wound up and in Boston. But they did to have been recovered and the fear is among the ATF and Boston police department the police officers who are working the case. Is that the other 16 or here in Boston. And you know that the state by state differences to me reveals the need the necessity for federal attention. And recently Senator Brown said that he felt that this was a state by state issue that he got Brown Scott Brown felt that this was a state by state but that really therefore allows the status quo which is going to be some states like Georgia. Arizona certainly Maine and New Hampshire to maintain their loose regulations with no background checks like there are in Massachusetts which takes five days to issue a gun permit

before anybody can buy one handgun and take possession of a permit to carry that that those that looseness will allow the easy flow of guns even though we have very tough regulations here Massachusetts. The easy flow of guns into our neighborhoods. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff made the point that there is more regulation with toys yes than with guns which is a little shocking it is. It is also seen that you know the there is regulation of those who are who do our nails you know to do. And then there are of the those who are purchasing guns. And it's it's remarkable that it continues without the you know without attention to the real effect. Boston Police Commissioner Davis whom we both interviewed. Said that there has to be a pragmatic approach. Mayor Menino leads the international charge among mayors to get

a federal approach that doesn't seem to despite the awfulness of what happened in Arizona. That does not just seem to be on the priority of Congress. Well then if the status quo remains that we are going to have a walled zone type environment in many of our neighborhoods and that's what needs to be written about speaking my guest Stephen Curtin his appeal it's a prize winning investigative reporter and a fellow for the initiative for Investigative Reporting at Northeastern School of Journalism. We're talking about the pathway by which the legal guns end up in the hands of criminals in Massachusetts. Even though as both Stephen Kurkjian and Pat Terrence you know have said to me Massachusetts has very tough regulations around gun purchase. Now some of the things that you mentioned in your piece is that there is an annual seizure of about

600 weapons and the police are able to do and that they jail more than 100 people a year for illegal. Possession or trafficking in guns but yet and we have the laws as I said the tough laws we still have this spike in murders homicides and high risk criminal criminal is a criminal activity right. And is that because there are just more and more influx of these guns. There is if the police are paying more attention. A lot of wasn't paying more attention to gun possession but only putting them away for 18 months for illegal possession. Even though the feds have a tougher tougher sanctions may not be enough. And that's why Commissioner Davis says he thinks it could be you know it could be as many as four or five years for putting illegal possession. That's what he was suggests what he would do. That's what he would suggest. And that's that's a pretty tough draconian

step to put somebody away for for five years for illegal possession. But that's what he's dealing with day in and day out and that's what the residents of these neighborhoods are dealing with day in and day out. Well speaking of the residents of the neighborhood you spent some time really talking to the residents about you know this piece. I'd like to know first of all were they shocked by what you. You and Steve uncovered here. I think for the people living in Roxbury Dorchester and mad upin the realities of street violence is just that it's a day and day out occurrence. I had spoken with several mothers of children who had been killed. I spoke with Celeste Allen of Madame Pan who had her 21 year old son Richard Allen murdered on an MBT bus earlier last year. She and many other people said the same thing they said. We know that this violence is out there we know that there's a pull to gangs but I never thought it could happen to my

son. And I think that that that is what I came away with the feeling that everyone's aware of the risks and there's a lot of people doing some truly good work to try and improve the situation. But until the people of Dorchester madman in Roxbury really come to full terms with exactly what they're dealing with and really take a look at themselves look into their own homes and really start to think what can they do to prevent future violence this cycle. It's a term commonly used but it's used commonly for a reason that cycle won't stop. What makes you think that they haven't fully come to terms with what's going on. Well I think you hear about it in the news you pick up the globe. You see you know murder on Blue Hill Avenue. You think I live right by there this could happen but it hasn't yet. And oftentimes it's just a little too little too late I think. For example Tina Sherry has

been working for decades now since 1993 when her 15 year old son was murdered. She's been working to try and stop that cycle of violence by speaking not only with the families of victims but with the families of the perpetrators and trying to resolve whatever conflicts are left. When a family member leaves either to prison or is buried and I think that that sort of work is where we're going to see the most progress in reducing the number of crimes we face. OK. Stephen back to the question of trafficking. I guess there's some issues with trying to really get a handle on gun trafficking. What are those. Well because of the lack of record keeping that that the laws the federal laws allow you know what I'm a private owner of a gun and a bad guy comes up to me and I'm not a gun dealer

just I have a gun and the bad guy comes up to me and wants to buy or individual whom I don't really know his background on. I can make that sale without any background check because I'm not a gun dealer just a private transaction. Well I sell my car. He even if it's dodged out of whatever I have to. Maintain records on that in the registry files I find out about with guns. Secondary sales do not have to be recorded as a result by the third or fourth transfer of that gun when it has wound up in a tough neighborhood. When it is used in a crime when the feds or the Boston police try to get the criminal who had the gun and use a gun to fight to tell who he bought it from he doesn't have to say the trafficking case does not get met does not get made as a result the person who had the gun gets prosecuted and gets jailed for 18 months at the maximum. And as a result the trafficking law the trafficking statutes a much tougher you go to jail for five years to sell to selling to a person whom you know

was should've known was going to use it in a crime they'd never get there very very rarely get prosecuted. So the trafficking cry because of the lack of record keeping the trafficking cases much more difficult to make then in a stolen car or using a stolen car where you know what's stolen because you know the person had to report it. In Massachusetts you are supposed to report every time there's a theft of your handgun of a gun you're supposed to report it. Yet time after time after time when the law enforcement goes back to the person who last was known to have had that gun in he or she said I the gun was stolen. That person if they did not report it as being stolen should be prosecuted by the DA's office very very few people are prosecuted for failure to report the theft of a gun. And so there is sort of this subtle lack of attention in you know to the to the crime in the same way Pat said the consequence isn't truly felt because it happened in a tougher neighborhood and we're not paying attention there.

That's the same way I think that lack of in the lack of intensity of the public's intensity towards let's get to the bottom of this and clean and and make some real changes just doesn't happen hasn't happened yet. OK so let's face it any conversation about guns gun safety gun controls. And we've just seen that in the wake of the Tucson shootings fairy delicate for the folks who could make some changes legally and those people in Congress that the federal folks that you say need to be paying to do this. So. I have to ask the question why would anybody object to record keeping There must be a political reason but I don't know what it is maybe you know the NRA in the. Those are all gun owners associations have such a lock hold on the pull on any changes in Congress that an advocate whom I interviewed who went down in spoke to the ED at the White House to people within the president President Obama's inner circle was told by one of those members of the inner circle.

Please do not press too hard on this. Our Democratic friends in Congress don't want to be called out on this on this. Even the Democrats in Congress who you would think would have more sympathy towards gun control don't want to be shown to be less then an hour a like in their attitudes towards changes. Well as I've heard someone say what if it's framed not gun control and I'm trying to keep you from buying a gun but there's some gun safety issues one could do by reducing the kind of clips that are huge and make having private records you know does that is not the buy from who is legitimately saying I want to buy a gun to do that. But the from you know the day in and day out reporting that I've seen about where Congress is on this I don't know if the awfulness that happened in Tucson is going to lead to that type of. Middle of the road pragmatic hands on changes that should be made from should that should be made from both sides.

Well let's talk about some pragmatic changes that could happen here but Pat Tharon Teano who is a reporter for the initiative for Investigative Reporting it northeastern School of Journalism. Well when you went out to talk to people you found lots of people working toward putting it into use violence but yet you say not necessarily working together. I think that's one of the most interesting things I came away with actually. There are countless groups working to stop violence in these neighborhoods that are most hardest hit by them. Unfortunately though there's only so much grant money out there these organizations are oftentimes competing with one another for funds and also just street by street who is going to take care of kids on their way out of school on this street versus you know let's say Fields Corner versus Geneva AvX. I think that one of the most poignant things I picked up while doing these interviews actually came from Tina Sherry. She said We teach our We're trying to teach our children not to

fight over terror not to spill blood over a land when in reality we're doing the same thing through this through a grant writing through this competition for funding. And I think one of the important steps that can be taken is sort of a citywide survey to look at where are these services most available where they oversaturated you'll find very few places but they do exist. And how can the efforts be put together and applied more uniformly not only reacting to the day to day interactions that we see on the street. There may be a high crime neighborhood one week that's completely quiet the next. But being able to target that and have complete coverage throughout the city I think is an important step that we need to take. And it's only going to be done by peace advocates willing to work with one another. Now so Pat Steve has talked about you know having programs or initiatives that coordinating across the city. But my sense continues to be

that there are folks who say yeah I'm listening to this but it's three neighborhoods you said and so that's really not me. Seems a shame these illegal guns are getting to Massachusetts but was it had to do with my life. How do you respond to that. Well there's not two Americas. It's one America and. And these issues are what happens in mad opin Dorchester which is where I was born on Roxbury is as important to the Commonwealth as what happens in Wellesley in West and in Winchester. And if that if I have to. If that's not so then you know all the good the newspapers can do or investigative reporting can do. Really I'm not you know of in vain. I mean that's what you know this is

this. We are one state. And those are our communities. And what happens there affects me as much as it affects anyone anywhere else. I think in during one of my interviews I spoke with Chip Greenwich he is an organizer and asked for a group called the greatest minds. He's trying to cultivate a larger black owned business community in both Dorchester Matt pan and Roxbury. And I think I came away with my conversations with him realizing that. But to simplify it scared money doesn't make money. If you have if youre a business owner you're concerned about the crime in your neighborhood limiting the number of people coming in to shop. And if you're also being pushed by pushback on the other side by the police who are coming in and attempting to perform sweeps locate target players. If you're if you find yourself owning a business in one of those neighborhoods it becomes incredibly difficult to make a go of it.

Youre more concerned about ensuring the safety of yourself and your employers and people coming in to buy things than actually running your business. One of the things that he was really pushing for was a little bit more transparency between the business community that can really reinvigorate neighborhoods hardest hit by crime make it. Find them an equal seat at the table with law enforcement and understand what exactly is being done. When can they expect things to calm down. Can they expect. What should they be expecting as they're opening their businesses. And I think that that that kind of preparation and that conversation could do could make great strides for the future of these neighborhoods. Political will is as you said probably not there but you just have to ask for the record. Has anybody any legislator or having read this very intense piece commented to you asked for more information

seem shocked by any response. I've had some input from police officials and just last week we saw we saw before he's the editor of the papers with the superintendent Joyce Boston police superintendent Joyce who deals with this problem all the time. And he was saying that the Boston Police Department HIS know and thereby has identified through their research probably about 250 gang members living inside these toughen neighborhoods. And they focused on these gang members both with law enforcement and also hoping hopefully social services. But they are targeting. These folks to try to get the neighborhoods of the good people who live around these bad guys to say to them You better shape up. And if you don't we're going to have to move out because the

they are the Boston police and I think the city is trying to put more emphasis on those positive forces in a neighborhood to try to ostracize eliminate the those homes that are just struggling. You know that allow for gang violence to happen or the drug activity to happen. So I do think that it's not just taking away gun rights. I do think that the community is looking towards at those homes where people are protected. Yes. Doing illegal things to make a decision. And I would be remiss if not putting on the table for our listeners that there are suggestions it feels overwhelming and what can you do on the federal level and perhaps people want to talk to their representatives about this. If so inclined to really put some safety measures and here's a few that Nicholas Kristoff mentioned in

his article limit gun purchases to one per month per person. Push for more gun safes and make serial numbers harder to erase improve background checks and follow Canada and requiring a 28 day waiting period to buy a handgun. Now these are safety issues they're not taking away anybody's gun but again these this is that's a political conversation but at least the conversation perhaps may be ratcheted up because of what happened in Tucson and back here locally from your very fine work in the Dorchester Reporter. Thanks. So I thank you both for coming in to talk to us. We're talking about crime in the commonwealth this hour and I've been joined by Stephen Kurkjian. He really he recently wrote a piece on illegal guns in Boston for the Dorchester Reporter. His appeal is a prize winning investigative reporter and a fellow for the initiative for Investigative Reporting at Northeastern University School of Journalism. I was also joined by Pat Terence Tino. He co-wrote the piece in the Dorchester Reporter. He's currently a reporter for the initiative for investigative reporting in the School of Journalism at Northeastern University. Up next we look at an

uptick in neighborhood crime watches Stay with us. Coming. Right. Up. Support for WGBH comes from you. And from the cottages at new bridge on the Charles homes for independent seniors in Hebrew senior life's newest community. A maintenance free lifestyle in a setting that encourages growth and exploration. The cottages at Newbridge dot work. And from SNH construction offering to the greater Boston area for over 30 years residential renovations custom building historic restorations Renewable Energy site work solutions and re modeling. SH construction dot com.

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Tickets are $25. There's a WGBH daughter org slash wine event. We're running out of oxygen. I only have so many people that I can treat the world and it's not an easy decision for anyone to make. Coming up at 3 o'clock on eighty nine point seven WGBH Boston NPR station for news and culture. Good afternoon I'm Kalee Crossley. This is the Calla Crossley Show. If you're just tuning in we're talking about crime this hour. Earlier we were talking about the causes. Now we're looking at the cures over the last year there's been an uptick in neighborhood crime watch groups. Joining me to talk about what's going on in the neighborhood is Carolyn McNeill director of the Boston Police neighborhood crime watch unit. Her unit oversees the active neighborhood groups in Boston which top a whopping 800. Also with me is Trina Ambroise. She runs redefining our community a neighborhood crime watch group in Dorchester. Welcome to you both. Thank you thanks. So Kara let me start with you. Eight hundred neighborhood

watch groups wow it hundreds. Is this you know neighborhood watch groups a kind of old fashioned. They were all in favor it seems to me 70s or 80s. When did the Boston Police Department unit that you run really start. This is the the neighborhood crime watch where the neighborhood watches. Twenty seventh year it started in the south end actually by a neighborhood activist who really recognized that neighbors getting to know one another and paying attention to their streets and what goes on in their streets could have an impact on on crime. And so initially when you started were there a hundred groups. Well I started in this role two years ago when it started 27 years ago. It really it really flourished and I think that there was a lot going on in the 80s at that time and and they really proliferated I mean Chris was a. His he caught the

attention of actually then Mayor Ray Raven fled and really liked the idea and he was hired to sort of. That's a former director of the initial Gary Exactly so you know I think over twenty seven years I suspect and I don't know exactly. I do know that we have boxes upon boxes of information in our archives but I know that there's been thousands of neighborhood watch groups over the course of 27 years. What do you think. And I'm coming to you in a minute Trina but but but Carol what do you think drives a neighborhood to pull together a neighborhood watch. Well I think nine times out of 10 we get information or a call when an incident of violence happens. I mean that's generally speaking what happens or neighbors recognize that things are not what they used to be like. So either there isn't a significant incidence that you know people sort of band together or

go you know this this isn't this isn't right we have to we have to get involved or that they recognize an uptick in little kinds of crime. Cry you know for example arms house brakes car brakes people have noticed on their street that there's a lot of broken glass and things that just aren't that the same that they used to be and so people want to get involved. OK that was Carolyn McNeil my guest who is director of the Boston police and neighborhood crime watch unit. And now I'm going to turn to Trina Ambroise. She runs redefining our community which is one of those 800 neighborhood watch groups in the city. So what what got your neighborhood to pull together oh just like Carolyn said. Normally it's some sort of crime that happens or we're looking around a neighborhood and see that things aren't quite right for us in 2006 it was the murder of innocent child name Steven Odom

who lived in our community. He was 13 years old when he was gunned down. He was mistaken by a gang member to be someone else walking down the street and they killed this young man. So we start we began in 2000 and 9 and after he died in 2006 we were all wounded the community was wounded. Everyone that lived in the area knew the child had seen him outside playing and they had played with many of our children. So we were wounded and we wanted to do something and we had been talking about doing something. So I was one of the people who took the initiative to say OK we've got to do something let's do it now. So we went to Odom's Steven Odom's parents and we ask that we use their church the true vine church which is 45 40 Norfolk Street in Dorchester and we ask that we meet there and we started meeting. And from there we you know we all basically banded together everyone in our

community basically heeded the call. Our first meeting we had like oh maybe over 30 people. What do you do in the meetings and then what do you do outside of the meeting. OK. While in the meeting we basically go over what our issues are on individual streets. I can only tell you what's wrong on my street and that's the way we operate. Everyone is responsible for their own street street and we bring our issues to the table. We bring into the police the police a president. I don't meetings. The Boston City neighborhood Department is there at our meetings Carolyn is always at our meeting. And then they address the issues. We get we present them and they're addressed. Outside of that we have a block party which is one of the first things we did after our meeting start in June of 2009 we had a block party that August because one of our main focuses was that we knew that there would always be crime but we would always have a community and we would always need to be looking out for one another.

So that was one. So that is our main goal is to bring our community closer. So we that we know our neighbors and we're all looking out for one another. And when you know your neighbors the crime scenes you knew would naturally go down. Oh definitely most definitely. We were able to. Specifically that. We were able to look out for each other like cars will be broken into before. If your car broke got broken into you wouldn't tell anybody. You would just call the police and hat and handle it like that. Now we're calling each other and saying hey my car was broken into and then you can follow it. The next the next couple of weeks it happened on another street. You know so then we've already called each other and call them the police so that we can have the police you know doing more more more driving by the neighborhood and patrolling on our neighborhood so that we can get that addressed and getting better lighting and getting our street signs and you know it's a wonderful It's a

wonderful outlet for us and a wonderful way for us to show how much we care you know about where we live and how we want our neighborhood to be a nice safe clean place to raise our children. And just to live and then to work from. That's Tina Ambrois she runs redefining our community and neighborhood crime watch group in Dorchester. Carolyn when do criminals are they aware when a member has come together as Tina says and so they you know let's go someplace else because now people are watching paying attention. I think I think I would say yes I don't know if the criminals per se but I think that there was there was when neighbors when a community comes together there's always a sense of cohesiveness. And and I think when things are get and getting taken care of and people are making calls there is a definitely a general feeling of care and concern that that I think everybody recognizes. In the police

department recognize it's really really important and Trina said something that I think is just so important that nobody cares about their neighborhood like the people who live there. They have a vested interest in the safety of their neighborhood. So it is of the utmost importance that they get together and know each other. Would you suggest other neighborhoods get together and form groups like this such as yours. Oh definitely. And and if they are interested in getting having help. We have a Web site. OK. Yes it's W W W R O C W O R G. That's on the Internet we're also on Facebook so you can look us up and friend us. We're friend of the Kelly Crossley Show. Oh good you can look at redefining our community on Facebook and we'll be willing to help you to start it because it just starts it takes one person. We had all been talking. But it took one person to just

go and get it done. And then everyone came because basically if you if you talk to your neighbors you'll find out that everybody is feeling the same way you do. We want this crime to stop. And we know that it starts with us. You know it's been some time now but we know that it starts with us we know that we have to get it started. You know we know that we can't wait for someone else to solve our problems we've got to take the initiative to begin to to start the process of getting our issues solved. In general a lot of people say that our society is disconnected we are disconnected from each other. But there's there's less of that when you have these community groups announce right. That's right. And you know what to it's and it's to you have to watch out who's speaking for you. You know I've listened to so many people who speak for the residents of Dorchester who don't live where I live ask me what's going on in Dorchester. You cannot come in and make your own observation. And then

that observation be what is happening. That was actually the feeling of the community you know and you can't talk to two or three people and find out what's going on either. You know having lived in my community I found out that there are more good people in my community than there are bad and that we're just not organized. You know and that like if there's 10 people on the street one of them will be bad. Right. But in their ruling the entire street I have to say that for the city in general there are so many wonderful people doing so many wonderful things and and I think that you know neighborhoods get get a bad rap. And you know it's really incumbent upon neighbors to recognize that and band together the good the good people and get those one or two people that aren't behaving properly to conform or get out. Well I have to say after listening to Trina Ambrose I believe there'd be some other neighborhoods getting together because you're a pretty powerful proponent of it.

Thank you so much for talking to us today about your organization. Thank you so much for having the cow that you were talking about the surge of neighborhood crime watch groups with Carolyn McNeil director of the Boston Police neighborhood crime watch unit. And I've also been joined by Trina Ambroise she runs redefining our community a neighborhood crime watch group in Dorchester which is on Facebook. Carolyn is going to stick around but we have to say goodbye to Trina. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. OK. Up next we continue the conversation with another neighborhood watch group. We'll be back after this break. Stay with us. Support for WGBH comes from you and from The Graduate music education programme at Gordon College in when a message is it's hosting an information session on Wednesday January 26 at 4:30. Registration and more info online at Gordon dot edu slash grad music. And from Merrimack Repertory Theatre. Presenting

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Classic on WGBH television. If you can't wait for next week's episode support eighty nine point seven with the gift of one hundred twenty dollars right now and WGBH will say tanks with online access to each new episode of Downton Abbey a whole week before it comes to TV. Already a member you've got access to. It's all online at WGBH dot org. Being without a home can mean living in plain sight and an acknowledged but some of taken notice. I'm Philip Martin. Join me this afternoon for recognizing Bruce on eighty nine point seven WGBH. Good afternoon I'm Kalee Crossley. This is the Calla Crossley Show. If you're just tuning in we're talking about crime this hour with a focus on how citizens are taking back the streets over the last year there's been an uptick in neighborhood crime watch groups. I'm joined by Carolyn McNeil the director of the Boston Police neighborhood crime watch unit and her unit oversees an active neighborhood groups in Boston which top a whopping 800. Also with me

is Peter McNamara founder of the seven he'll alert a yahoo group that serves as an on line neighborhood crime watch welcome. Thank you. Now Peter we heard a little bit from Trina that they are now on Facebook her neighborhood watch group. But you started in cyberspace your group started in cyberspace. Yes. We have it we have a crime watch group. And it's tough getting people to go to meetings all the time unless is an issue. And so I thought well you know if I start a yahoo group. We might have more communication within the community and we have now have over 100 members. And active members too. And so we get a report every week from the police department the police blotter and a lot of these things are time sensitive in those and we need a way to get them out to neighbors right away over Christmas Eve. We had 18 cars broken into in our neighborhood and people were in aware of it. And also one of the things I find that people do not like calling the police.

They don't want to inconvenience them unless it's insurance plan money coming involved and they won't call the police. They just get their window fixed and they'll say anything and and this week the police only had a record of 12 cars being broken into. And so everyone was on alert. And we caught them great we caught them Christmas Eve in fact I caught them. OK. So it's just about you know keeping people in in tune and in touch in real time. Right and that's worked well. Yeah now we hear so much about being online being distancing actually not not bringing people together but you have the opposite. Well actually it's gone from Crimewatch to a sort of a social neighborhood. We have we have a tree list we have with what we're doing here we're off the spring we're having a VIN etching clinic. If you have your car's been etched with your for the year in Sharia What does that mean yeah. The your

insurance company will docked up to 15 percent on your premiums. Oh Seven whole group you can come to my neighborhood. Yeah. And also we had it we got organized a Christmas caroling. We did a weather weather is a sion program urban gardening classes and we're building a community garden now and it's fun. And also I just found out yesterday a group getting together for coffee on Sunday. So it's a little bit of what my guest just left Trina said is that it's really a community group now with watching out for crime is just part of that. Yeah. Carolyn speak to me about how many groups are now online is the seven hero alert is a good percentage of them. Because I think Peter mentioned it it is hard for people that work a lot to come out. I mean we always encourage that face to face communication because I think that that's really really important. But more important than that is

that people are getting the information from us and creating this two way communication with the police and forming a relationship. And I think that that's really what we're getting at so most groups have either yahoo or google groups or things of that nature and they're connecting with each other online. We do we do encourage though that they meet you know as much as they can meet face to face me. Exactly. And yeah as a group. But I think Peter mentioned it to one trainer that inherent in a lot of these groups becomes the social aspect of it. And and it's it becomes a lot of fun. A lot of fun people are it's really about creating a sense of community among their neighbors and you know it's it becomes really really fun for them. Peter make marrow of the seven Hill alert So how is your neighborhood changed I mean what what started you along the path of forming this group.

Last July Fourth there was a large group of juveniles that were in Carson beach and they were thrown out of Carson beach and they came over to our neighborhood and they were unruly. They were walking on cars. They sat down the street blocked traffic and people were scared really were frightened so we decided to have a meeting at the Dorchester yacht club. And we had one hundred twenty eight people show up which said something right. And that's what started and we I've lived there for 20 years and it's a very very quiet community. And that's one of the problems. And the police were starting to crack down on the prostitution and the prostitutes were actually looking for other places to bring their their clients. And since we're a quiet neighborhood we kept in funny cars at night finding condoms in the street. We're finding needles on the street. And something out of and we have to do something about it. So we got together and we worked with the police chief Linski came down and met with us and

they put new lighting in they trim the trees around the lights and we Carolyn Help us with the whistle program which by the way works. We've used it and it's been used in our neighborhood several times in fact it was just used the other night because there was a prostitute in a car and neighbors went out five of us went out with our whistles and we blew whistles around the car. And the program does work. I mean it's it's I love it and I think everyone else does too. I'm getting very positive feedback on it. Carolyn with groups you know and they have to be neighborhood specific as we've said. Is there any danger of splintering into communities where there are several neighborhoods if you will. You know there's within a certain geographic area splintering of you mean neighborhood my neighborhood. I haven't found it. And I think what we're trying to do now is connect more groups to each other. The more groups that get set up and

get established there's often a lot of interest in. One group knowing where other groups are in and around the area so they can start connecting and link together. Yeah exactly so I think that there is a real desire and a real need to connect with each other. Our neighborhood crime watch groups here to stay will we see even more than a hundred you think Peter met us fact and there we're actually we're technically for crime watch groups that have united as one. And now there is another group that has a crime watch group for a long time and the woman running it is tired and she hasn't got the time for it. Tell St.. And she's right she's thinking about disbanding it. So why have a group of five people right now and clues for the streets Sagamore heartland Saxon street and they're all going to get together and do the same thing that we did. Now we plan on meeting with the city officials. But it's not going to be an every month there's going to be every maybe every four

months five months unless there's an issue. If there's an issue we're going to do it because we feel bad for the public officials who have to show up these meetings every night some nights they have two or three to go to. So if there's an issue we want to meet with them. But if it's if it's things that we can deal with ourselves then that's fine you know. It seems to me that there's going to soon be more than 800 Carolyn is looking like it based on Peter and Trina's experiences it seems I have a good feeling for 2011. There's a wonderful song times are changing. Yeah it said you know we don't either you swim or you sink. Well I don't think you're saying thank you very much for coming to talk to me we've been talking about neighborhood crime watch groups in Boston I've been joined by Carolyn McNeil the director of the Boston police deployed neighborhood crime watch unit and Peter McNamara founder of the Savin Hill alert a yahoo group that serves as an on line neighborhood crime watch. You can keep on top of the Kelly Crossley Show at WGBH dot org slash Calla Crossley follow us on Twitter or become a fan of the Kelly Crossley Show on Facebook. Ok seven he'll become a fan. Today's

show was engineered by Alan Mathis and produced by Chelsea murders and a white knuckle be an Abby Ruzicka where production of WGBH radio Boston's NPR station or news and culture.