Combatting crime: Silence is biggest hurdle
- pottstownmercury
- Mar 9, 2015
- 6 min read
Police ask for citizen help through cameras, information, tiplines
By Marian Dennis
Pottstown >> Ask law enforcement dealing with violent crime in Pottstown about the biggest obstacle to catching criminals and they are likely to say it’s silence.
Or, more specifically, silence when police ask witnesses to provide information about a crime.
Repeatedly in recent months, as police have been grappling with a wave of violence, Pottstown Police Chief Rick Drumheller has pleaded with people to come forward and say what they know.
“It’s time to pick a side,” Drumheller said during a Dec. 3, 2014 council meeting.
“You have to talk. You can’t tell us nothing,” Drumheller said. “You can’t say I don’t want to be involved, and that is one of the frustrations, as police officers, that we’ve been dealing with.”
One way to overcome that obstacle is to find different ways for people to be involved.
That may involve installing street cameras, or teaching residents what to look for and provide new, more interactive ways for citizens to interact with police.
Police chief advocates for cameras
Drumheller has been advocating using street cameras because it provides the detail investigators need and undeniable proof of a suspect’s involvement in an incident.
“A camera is the best witness there is,” Drumheller told borough council in December. “I am going to make a full-court press for people to get cameras in and around their buildings.”
Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman agrees.
“Cameras have a number of benefits,” Ferman said. “They’re an extra set of eyes and they also act as a deterrent. Also, they are much more likely to capture evidence of value,” she said.
“Something as normal as a car going by might not seem important, but it may be able to help us, say establish the route a suspect took,” Ferman said.
The City of Lancaster has 161 street cameras covering 60 percent of the city and since they were installed in 2005, crime has been dwindling.
They are operated by the Lancaster Community Safety Coalition.
According to crime statistics posted on the Lancaster Bureau of Police website, nearly all major crimes are down. Assaults are down by 39 percent since 2010; vehicle theft has dropped by 58 percent and robbery is down by 34 percent.
“This is the wave of the future and this is what I think we need to get because when you have a camera, you have evidence,” said Drumheller.
Police improving tiplines
Police are working to make information obtained through word of mouth more useful by making it easier for residents to give tips.
“The anonymous tips are great and they are productive, but even if a person doesn’t want to leave their name, leaving a number can really help us,” said Cpl. Michael Long of Pottstown Police. “If we can get in touch with them just to get more information, not necessarily to get their information, they can still remain anonymous but to sort of ask the questions we need to ask to get us to where we need to be.”
“Specifics create reliability,” said Captain Robert Thomas of Pottstown Police. “If they give you some specifics about the activity or what’s going on it makes us capable of acting upon it.”
During a Feb. 16 community meeting about crime, Long, who is one of the leaders of the newly revived Community Response Unit, was asked if someone who thinks they have seen a drug deal take place should call it in.
“Absolutely,” Long replied. “Everyone makes contact with cell phones now. They arrange the deal and a place to make it happen, and it happens in seconds.”
Detail makes a difference
What’s most helpful, said Long, is as much detail as possible. “What did they look like? What are they wearing? Can you get a license plate? The make and model of the car? Anything that helps us to know who to look for.”
Drumheller explained that some tips are too vague to act upon. That’s why police are trying a new method of receiving tips that they hope will help create more of a conversation.
“We’re in the process right now of getting business cards made up with the tip line phone number on it but also the address, drugtip@pottstown.org,” explained Drumheller. “The reason we want to do that is it will make giving a tip, while it’s not specifically anonymous, a little bit more interactive and it could give us a lot more information. We can actually have a drug (enforcement officer) talk back to them and create a dialogue.”
The cards are expected to be distributed at local township buildings and Pottstown Borough Hall. Drumheller indicated that the new method for submitting tips is more suited to issues that are continuing, rather than situations that call for an immediate response. Police are reminding residents that matters requiring immediate assistance should be called in by phone.
“You won’t be able to send us an email saying something like ‘there’s a drug deal going on right now at High and Hanover.’ That’s not going to help us. You have to use the phone for that,” explained Drumheller.
However, the new drug tip line is expected to significantly aid in gathering information that can lead to more arrests.
Community is responding
Pottstown Police posted on their Facebook page on Jan. 21 that because of “quick action by residents in the area of the 300 block of Rosedale” officers were able to apprehend several people who were reported as acting suspicious in a yard in the neighborhood. They added that those people ran from officers and that one was found to have jewelry and cell phones on him.
On Feb. 9, police investigated 20 North Charlotte Street after neighbors had voiced their concerns and frustrations about the suspicious activity that had been going on for a long time around the apartment.
“We’ve had a lot of complaints about this place from the community,” said Pottstown Police Chief Richard Drumheller about the investigation. “And they’ve actually stepped forward and provided us with some information.”
The complaints prompted an investigation that led to the arrest of five individuals; Amy Gehman of Pottstown on an active Montgomery County bench warrant; Tyree Jones of Philadelphia on charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver; Allen Wise of Pottstown on charges of possession of a controlled substance; and Richard Saracini and Michael Bearden, both of Pottstown, on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Those weren’t the only times community awareness has served the police force and the residents well.
Police responded to the Quality Inn on a tip that there may have been illegal drug deals going on. After responding, officers arrested Anthony King, 27, after finding drugs and drug paraphernalia on his person as well as several items of drug paraphernalia in the room in which he had been staying.
More recently, on Feb. 20, a year-long investigation of a residence on North Charlotte Street that began after neighbors in the area noticed a lot of unusual activity, concluded as police searched the residence and found several firearms as well as drugs and drug paraphernalia valued at $15,000. Omar White, the man officials have connected with the drug activity, turned himself him less than a week after the search and is now awaiting a preliminary hearing on several charges.
Officers noted that the investigation began as a direct result of the information community members had given police. Community members had noticed that an unusual amount of traffic had been entering the area. As a result, residents took note of the license plates of cars that were frequenting the area and provided police with details that led them to investigate targeted aspects of the case.
“I’m excited at the level of participation I’ve seen increase in the community,” said Drumheller. “Especially when it comes to dealing with information on drug dealers. We have seen an increase of people wanting to help us.”
“It could be the amount of crime that’s going on in the community. It could be impassioned people in the community talking about trying to get people to step up,” said Drumheller. “Or it could be some people that just really give a darn about their community and want to see it be a better place to live. I hope it’s that.”
Mercury Staff Reporter Evan Brandt contributed to this report.
