Fourth Ward Parking

FOFW Announces On-Street Parking Changes for Fourth Ward

Residential Parking Permit Program Goes 24/7 - Friends of Fourth Ward (FOFW), in conjunction with the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Park It!, announces new regulations regarding on-street parking for the Fourth Ward residential parking permit zones.

Over the past year, the FOFW Parking subcommittee reviewed Fourth Ward's current on-street parking conditions with an 'eye toward the future' when circumstances could become even more challenging as our neighborhood and city continue to expand. The subcommittee, many of them residents in the parking zones, met with other Fourth Ward residents as well as CDOT to tackle issues like the shortage of parking available to residents, especially on nights and weekends when Entertainment District patrons park in the Fourth Ward. New residential parking program regulations that were 'evolutionary' in nature were proposed by the subcommittee and adopted by the FOFW Board of Directors.

The new regulations - put in place late February by CDOT - expand the residential parking program's by permit resident only restriction to 24 hrs per day, 7 days a week. Information regarding addresses included in the program is available from CDOT (link below). The annual cost of the permit/decal is still $30 per vehicle and persons who legally reside at an address included in the program and who have guests residing or visiting on a temporary basis in their homes are eligible to obtain a temporary parking permit for use on their guests' vehicles. Visitors of less than two hours do not require temporary permits, short-term parking is allowed without a permit. Temporary permits are $3 each and valid for up to seven days.

In combination with the new regulations, discreet but identifiable 'tick' marks were recommended to help maximize our neighborhood's parking without blocking driveways or vehicle access, particularly emergency vehicles. At the time of publishing, these 'tick' marks were not yet complete; so, expect block closures in the coming weeks to accommodate their installation.

For more information or to join the FOFW Parking Subcommittee:
Mark Schnoor, Vice President, FOFW, m.s.schnoor@gmail.com

For more information on the Residential Parking Permit Program:
http://www.charmeck.org/, select Departments, Transportation, Special Programs, Park It, Residential Parking Permit Program

For more information on Center City Parking Lots and Garages go to:
Charlotte Center City Partners or aboutparking.com

CMPD - Crime Statistics Summary for January 2008

January 2008 compared to December 2007, both violent and property crimes are down substantially – violent Index crime was down -7.2% and property crime was down -7.6%, indicating we are continuing to make progress in reducing crime from the highs we saw in October 2007. In fact, in all but one major category, Aggravated Assaults, crime is down from last month. In other reporting categories, arrests are up for adults and down for juveniles for a total slight decline of -2.5% (48 arrests) this year compared to last and citations are up +8.9%.

The Department has implemented a number of steps to affect this trend, including:

• Concentrating on hot spots. The CMPD deploys resources – from patrol to the Street
• Crimes Unit – to target these areas while also responding to calls for service throughout the jurisdiction.
• Pursuing application and expansion of electronic monitoring and curfew stipulations. Dusk 2 Dawn and Electronic Monitoring programs target suspects who have bonded out of jail and are repeat offenders or fall into the age group (16-21) most likely to offend again.
• Focusing on seizing illegal weapons. Officers have already seized 333 this year
• Officers conducting more field interviews and zone checks – interviews are up 21% and zone checks are up 81%.

Things Citizens Can Do To Prevent CrimeDo your part - take responsibility for helping prevent crime and report suspicious activity to the police.

• Participate in or Start a Community Watch for your neighborhood.
• Always lock the doors of your vehicle and roll up windows, remove all items of value.
• Neverleave weapons in your vehicle.
• Never leave your car unattended with the engine running and never hide spare keys in or under the vehicle.
• Boost home security. Use solid core doors with peepholes and deadbolt locks. Keep garage doors closed and keep landscaping from blocking windows and doors.
• Shred it or dread it. Always shred documents before throwing them away.
• Do not give out personal or financial information on websites, through emails or online forms without verifying security. Beware of on-line predators.
• Be involved with you child; know who their friends are and where they live, discuss what to do and not to do in various situations.

cmpd.org

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) suggests that the form and arrangements of buildings and of open spaces can either encourage or discourage crime. CPTED attempts to reduce crime and the fear of crime by reducing criminal opportunity and fostering positive social interaction among the users of a space.

CPTED Defined - The proper design and effective use of the built environment can lead to a reduction in the fear of crime and the incidence of crime, and to improvement in the quality of life. The three elements of CPTED are Territoriality, Surveillance, and Access Control. When used together, these elements strengthen total premise security and personal safety.

Territoriality is a persons' desire to protect territory that they feel is their own and have a certain respect for the territory of others. The extent to which someone will defend territory depends on their personal investment in or responsibility for that property. For example, a homeowner is likely to risk his/her life to defend his home against an intruder who is threatening their spouse or child.

Here are some economical steps you can take to increase the visibility of your business:

• Clearly define your property through the use of natural or manmade borders
• Business and Community Watch Program

Surveillance: Criminals do not want to be seen. To defend your property you must be able to see any illegal acts taking place. Placing physical features, activities, and people in ways that maximize the ability to see what's going on discourages crime.

The following tips can help you maximize the visibility to your business or residence:

• Improve indoor and outdoor lighting.
• Illuminate all entrances, exits, and parking areas
• Clear windows of all clutter
• Trim and maintain all landscaping
• Place restrooms in high traffic areas
• Involve the entire community in your surveillance efforts

Access Control: Properly located entrances, exits, fencing, and lighting can direct both foot and automobile traffic in ways that discourage crime. Access Control denies or restricts access to a crime target, and it also increases the perceived risks of the offender by controlling or restricting their movement.

Listed are some ways to help you control access to your properties:

• Reduce the number of entrances and exits
• Have guests/visitors sign in
• Fence or rope off problem areas

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department encourages its community members to do their part to establishing a safe and secure environment by incorporating these three basic elements into their security practices.

Resources:
Neighborhood Services
Code Enforcement Services
Economic Development Office
Security Grant Program

If you would like a police officer to conduct a Security Survey of your home or business please contact us by calling (704) 336-2310 Monday through Friday or you may also reach us through email: crimepreventionunit@cmpd.org

cmpd.org

Park Place Problems

The following was submitted by a resident of Park Place and was written on February 16, 2008.

Tonight around 9:00 pm we heard glass shatter in our garage. Luckily we were home and ran into the garage to find someone had busted out our window. Apparently he didn't think anybody was home and we ran him off. He obviously was climbing into the window before he decided to run away because he had glass in the park area beyond 10 ft. from our window when the window was broken into the garage. He also left a weapon in our garage (a knife with a 10 inch blade and the handle had finger holes which doubled as brass knuckles). This was not your ordinary household knife or pocket knife. The police took this for finger printing.

We have had a homeless guy living under our patio behind the bushes for about 2 weeks now. The police take him away and he comes right back. The guy's name is Wes. We and the police agree that this doesn't sound like something Wes would do. They believe it is a guy that broke into a home about a block from here earlier this week. I don't really know anything other than they were able to get hair samples at the scene earlier this week.

The police told us that with the problems we have had with people sleeping around our condo, defecating and leaving trash under our patio and bay window and now a break-in we needed to take some action. He told us that 95% of these problems would go away if this area had appropriate lighting. He said these people don't like light. He also noted the landscaping created a haven for someone to hide without being seen. He recommends that all trees are trimmed to 4 ft. from the ground and shrubbery is trimmed far enough down that someone could be seen even if they were kneeling down. He also told us to keep music playing in the home at all times as a deterrent and if we didn't have a gun in the house to get one. Of course we laughed when he told us to get a gun, but he told us that he was serious and that some of these people creating problems in the area could be dangerous.

Luckily nobody was hurt and the only damage we incurred was a broken window and scratches and dings on the hood of my car.

The police also said that If anybody sees anything suspicious to call 911immediately.

Thank you,

January Crime Stats

FIRST WARD

(12) Larceny from Auto

(4) Of these actually occurred in the neighborhood, the other (8) occurred in the surface lots and parking decks around the Entertainment District.

(11) Non –aggravated assaults

(2) Occurred in the neighborhood, (1) was cleared by arrest. The others occurred around the Entertainment District

(2) Armed Robberies

(1) Occurred on 1/29/2008 at approximately 10 pm in the 500 block of E. 9th St, when a female was walking to her car and was followed by a subject asking her for money. The subject then forced her into her own vehicle at the threat of a knife. He made her drive around for a while, eventually ending up at W.24th St and Polar St. The Victim was eventually able to get out of her vehicle and put up a fight. The suspect fled the area on foot. Two days later the suspect a MR Larry Talbert was found in possession of the victims ID card along with her social security card. The suspect was later identified by the victim and was arrested and charged with Kidnapping, Assault on a female and Robbery with a dangerous weapon and resisting a public Officer.

(1) occurred on 1/30/2008 at approximately 11pm in the 500 Block of N. Caldwell St. The white male victim was walking to his apartment at 504 N Caldwell. He stated that he observed 3 black males behind him and thought that something was strange. He advised that as he was walking through the parking lot of his apartment complex, 2 of the suspects, both black males, ran up towards him. Suspect #1 displayed a silver colored handgun in his right hand and said "give me all you got." The victim told the suspect that he did not have anything to give him and that they were trying to rob the wrong guy. The suspects then pushed the victim to the ground. The victim turned to look at the suspects and one of them kicked him in the right eye. All three ran of west on 8th St towards Brevard St.

(2) Residential Burglaries

Both occurred on 1/03/2008 in the 700 block of N. Caldwell St. In one of the cases, a woman was at home and was in the shower when someone entered her apartment and removed clothing items. In the other case no one was home. It is possible that both of these incidents involved the same suspect. The first victim observed a 35 year old black male subject knocking at her door. She ignored the knock and then went upstairs to take a shower. When she finished her shower and returned downstairs, she noticed that her place had been broken into and the items missing.

THIRD WARD

(9) Larceny from Auto

(6) Non-aggravated assaults

FOURTH WARD

(7) Larceny from Auto

(5) Non- aggravated assaults

(5) Vandalism

(2) Robberies

(1) Occurred at 524 N. Graham St on 01/07/2008 at approximately 8pm. The victim stated that about 2000 hours on 1/07/2008 a black male about 6' tall, black t- shirt and jeans walked into the store looked around for a bit and then bought a black and mild cigarette. The victim stated that a few seconds after two black males walked in with black hoods on and pulled over there faces, both pointing black handguns at him. The victim stated that both suspects approached him and came behind the counter. He stated that suspect #1 held his gun at his back and took five boxes of Newport cigarettes. The victim stated that suspect #2 took lottery tickets and then demanded him to open the register. The victim stated that suspect #2 then took 300.00 out of the register and put the money in a store grocery bag. At that point both suspects ran out of the store towards 9th St.

(1) Occurred on January 17, 2008 at approximately 2am. The victim stated that he left the music factory off of Seaboard St. and headed southbound on N. Graham St. when he pulled into the CVS/Dunkin Donut parking lot to text his girlfriend and wipe the snow from his side view mirrors. While sitting in his car the unknown suspect approached his vehicle advised that his car ran out of gas several blocks up the road and his daughter was with him. He advised that he just needed ride to a gas station. The suspect became more aggressive and hopped in the car. He then made the victim drive him around. He took the victims wallet removed his money and bank card. He began to verbally abuse and threatened the victim with bodily harm. He also sexually assaulted the victim by touching the victims and forcing the victim to touch him. The suspect eventually got of the car somewhere around the Sugar creek rd area.

(1) Residential Burglary

On January 21, 2008, the victim stated that his apartment was burglarized and some personal items were taken. The incident occurred at 425 W. 5th Street between 2:30 am and 5:30 am. The apartment was occupied at the time. There were no injuries reported and there was no property damaged.