Important Note from Officer Clark

Hi Recieved this from Officer Clark this morning, thought we should all see it. Rich On Wed 06/24/09 3:28 PM , "Brett Clark" bclark@ci.vallejo.ca.us sent: Ladies and Gentlemen: As the result of continued budget and staffing reductions in the Vallejo Police Department, I will not be taking on any new projects, or any new Neighborhood or Business Groups. I will still try to provide some level of service to those of you whom I have made a commitment to. The Vallejo Police Department no longer has the ability to provide the following Community services: - Neighborhood Watch, Business Watch. - Nuisance abatement. - Drug house abatement. - Landlord / Tenant meetings. - Attendance in any future meetings as a guest speaker. - Security inspections. - Community Forums. If the Vallejo Police Department is not awarded a significant amount of money this October for Police Staffing, from the Stimulus Grant we have applied for, I will likely be returning to the Patrol Division. I will let you all know if we are awarded the Grant and if the money is significant enough to maintain a Community Liaison position. You all have done great things for your community, so please don't become discouraged and continue your dedication. The Police Officers will continue to do their best to attend to your needs, all that I ask is that you be patient. Feel free to pass this e-mail along to other groups. Kind Regards, Brett Clark #436, Sergeant Community Liaison Vallejo Police Department 2 Florida Street Vallejo, CA 94590 Office (707) 553.7218 FAX (707) 649-3519 E-mail BClark@ci.vallejo.ca.us

Car Window - 300 Block of El Camino

Well we can tell Vallejo High graduation was last night, when walking the dog this morning I noticed a car window blown out and the glove compartment gone through in the 300 block on El Camino. Please keep alert.

Rich

Plese post on Blog.

Hi, Vista neighbors,   Yes, there will be Vista Garage sale this year, it is June 6th (first Saturday in June.) Held between 8am-3pm.  The BVHS will be available to pick up "end of the day" items as a donation to their thrift store after 3pm.  For more information, please read the newest Vista Newsletter and print out the participation form, fill it out and drop off in  Event Chair, Julie Lyons' mail box at 326 El Camino Real.   julie

The Spring 2009 Newsletter is Here!

Hello,

In checking messages and phone calls it seems that things are still pretty
quiet in the neighborhood. Yes, there have been some minor problems, but
overall we seem to be doing OK. According to Sergeant Brett Clark, Community Liaison for the Vallejo Police Department, we are doing OK as well. He follows our blog and is aware of all that we send out. Speaking of the blog, I would hope that all of you who have computers are checking it periodically. It is so much easier for me to post neighborhood information and news. Make sure that you make http://vistaneighbor.com one of your favorites, so you can keep up with us.

Don’t forget our next meeting is at the First Presbyterian Church on Amador and Nebraska on Wednesday April 1st at 6:30. We will be having another pizza party! Make sure you contact Julie Lyons at artdecolady@sbcglobal.net or 707-246-3716, so we know how much pizza to purchase.

Thanks and have a good spring.
Rich Martinez, VNA President

Download the newsletter in PDF format here

Officer Clark in Response to 7-11 Posting

First of all, you should not feel badly, it is not an easy thing to do when you
point your finger at someone and accuse them of committing an crime.

In a situation as you described, you, as the individual have to weigh the risk
against the reward.  What are you risking when you have a thief inches away from
you filling their pockets?  This thief is in your personal space, you don't
know anything about this person or their capabilities and you could subject
yourself to a physical attack.  But your reward is having the thief caught
and/or punished for their thievery.

In an uncomfortable situation such as this, you could finish your purchase,
walk to the magazine rack and browse.  When the thief and their buddies have
left the store, immediately approach the Clerk and tell them what you witnessed.
Most stores should be wired for video and the images should be easily
retrieved.  The Clerk can choose to call Police or eat the loss.  If you wish to
be a witness, that may need to testify in court, leave your first name and
preferably a cell phone number with the Clerk in the event a Police Officer
needs a statement from you.  Odds are, with this type of crime, the Officer can
make due with the video tape / CD in order to convict the thief.

As far as the students sitting and spitting on your lawn, this too is an
uncomfortable invasion of your personal space.  You can call the Police and ask
that the Officers move the teens along.  But, this is a low priority call for
Police response and a high priority for you, the homeowner.  With a call like
this, it will take a minimum of an hour for a Patrol Officer to get, and you
will be driving yourself crazy looking at the kids and waiting for the Police.

If this happens at a relatively routine time I would look for other ways of
dealing with it.  One way could be to have your lawn sprinklers operating at the
time school is letting out and maybe this will dissuade the disrespectful
students from using your yard as a lounge.  If the students become assaultive,
you have a right to protect yourself, just be reasonable when doing so.  And, as
soon as you can, call "911" and tell the Dispatcher that you have
violent or assaultive trespassers on your property.

If you wish to e-mail me directly with your address, I would be happy to pass
this information on to our School Resource Officers (while we still have a
couple) and the Beat Officer to provide you with some extra Patrol when time
permits.

Brett Clark #436, Sergeant
Community Liaison
Vallejo Police Department
2 Florida Street
Vallejo, CA 94590
Office (707) 553.7218
FAX   (707) 649-3519
E-mail BClark@ci.vallejo.ca.us

Msg from Officer Clark

Mr. Martinez,

Some of the incidents that I have read indicate that the people in your neighborhoods are very mindful of their surroundings and willing to make their presence known to the crooks. For their involvement, I do applaud them. Often times people will turn a blind eye to suspicious behavior if it does not directly involve them or their property.

A pattern that I have noticed, with not only the Vista group, but with other citizens in the community, is their inability to make personal contact with a live human being at the Police Department to report this ongoing suspicious activity. It is my opinion, based on what I have read, that these neighbors should call "911" to report the aforementioned activities.

Calls to the Police Department are prioritized then given to Patrol Officers in the order of the priority. For example, suspicious persons tampering with, or casing vehicles and/or properties for a Burglary / Robbery as previously described is a Priority 1 call and at the very least, depending on the details, a Priority 2 call. Officers are usually dispatched to those calls immediately. And, even though our manpower has being negatively impacted, we can usually arrive at an emergency call within a couple of minutes.

The best way to assist us during these Priority 1 and Priority 2 calls is to take up a position of advantage, where clear observations of the suspicious behavior can be made by the caller and immediately call "911" to relay their observations to the Police Dispatcher. Explain to the Dispatcher that you see people acting suspiciously in your neighborhood and describe the suspicious activity. For example, "There are three people out in front of my house smashing a garbage can into my car, vandalizing my car."

The Police Dispatcher will immediately send a Patrol Officer while asking a series of questions of the caller. The Officers will get the updates as they respond to the call and calm, diligent witnesses are an invaluable resource for the responding Officers.

Callers should be mindful that there may be a circumstance where "911" just keeps ringing. This will be stressful for the caller and the Dispatcher. We used to have 5 Dispatchers in the Communications Center at peak times of the day, now with budget cuts there are generally 3 or 4 Dispatchers working and one critical incident ties 3 Dispatchers up, so keep watching the crook, let the phone continue to ring and if possible write down some notes, e.g. licence numbers, vehicle descriptions, suspect descriptions, etc.

Property can be replaced, human life cannot, so I would advise against confronting the crooks. Most crooks we deal with in Vallejo are armed with either guns or knives and they could care less about how they treat a good Samaritan who is looking out for their neighbors property. So again, the best help for responding Officers is a good witness. Again, if you believe that you are watching a crime in progress and your instincts tell you to call "911", then call "911."

If you awake to find your vehicle has be Burglarized or stolen, unless you just saw it happen you should call on the 648.4321 number and go through the mind numbing maze of recordings. I too dislike having to use similar systems, unfortunately that is what things have come to. I hope this information is able to provide some type of assistance when calling the Police Department. Please feel free to forward any other questions or comments people may have. Thank you.


Brett Clark #436, Sergeant
Community Liaison
Vallejo Police Department
2 Florida Street
Vallejo, CA 94590
Office (707) 553.7218
FAX (707) 649-3519
E-mail BClark@ci.vallejo.ca.us

I was in 7-11

I was in 7-11 just after 1 p.m. this afternoon. There were at least 4 high school boys in there together. As I was at the counter paying, one of them was loading up his pockets with stuff he wasn't paying for. He was only about 6 inches from me as I was trying to pay. I never know what to do in that situation. I worry that if I say anything I'll invite trouble I'm not equipped to handle. At the same time I was worried that he was so close to me and I had money in my wallet. I told him about 3 times to back up, but I didn't tell anyone that he was stealing. I feel bad about that. I was worried enough at telling him to back up. They all waited outside for me and were staring at me until I drove away (of course they know my car now).

I'm not sure why the school gets out early on Wednesday, but regardless, I hate seeing these kids pulling this crap and getting away with it.

Just prior to this, I walked up to my house and there were a bunch of kids on my lawn, spitting and just being generally disrepectful.

I know it doesn't sound like much, but I really hate it and feel like I have to put up with it because of the housing prices.