Monday, April 13, 2009

A Message from Officer Remaley of the Easton Police Department to West Ward Residents

I have received confirmation from Police Chief Larry Palmer that the bike patrols have begun in the West Ward. In his words "We are very excited about getting the bikes on the road again. We are finally getting up to manpower levels that we can start to do some very exciting and productive programs again...most of them are young, aggressive officers and are excited to swarm the West Ward."

Our community laison officer, Lieutenant John Remaley sends this message to residents:

"The officers volunteering for the bike patrol program...are some of our most motivated officers, and [we] feel this will help ensure the success of this program. Please encourage your neighbors and all who have an interest in making west ward a better neighborhood to e-mail me or call in order to report problem areas and other incidents of concern. We need the help of the residents in order to make a real difference...If there is anything we can do in order to make west ward better, please don’t hesitate to drop me an e-mail...it will be input from the residents that we use to direct the activities of our bike patrols...our department appreciates your enthusiasm in regard to the bike patrols and we hope that by working together with the residents that these officers can make a difference in the quality of life that the residents of west ward will have. Please call or e-mail us with info. Your eyes and ears are a great help to us."

Lt. John Remaley
610-250-6752
jremaley@easton-pa.gov
---------

You do not have to be a witness with hard evidence to have helpful information for our officers. Emailing with car descriptions and license plate numbers of suspicious cars can help officers know what to keep an eye out for, and if you have addresses and even general descriptions of people involved in suspicious activity, that's great too. Every little bit helps!

We finally have the community policing we've been asking for--Progress, progress : )

Please post here if you see an officer on bike patrol in your area!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

thank you Mayor, Chief and the entire EPD. Promises delivered, a unique character trait that this adminstration has that others only talked about.

BTW I am a resident of the WW but will never give my name because of retaliation by one of my neighbors.

noel jones said...

Sorry Anon, but that is an excuse to not take responsibility for your words or revealing the motivation behind them. The neighbors on this blog have always engaged in civil and earnest debate without degenerating into the Jerry Springer-esque exchanges that we unfortunately see in comments posted to the local papers, or like the one you posted in response to hopeunseen with regard to Fireworks On Council Over Rehab Center. The idea that anyone in the neighborhood who thinks there is still room for change would "retaliate" against someone who is continuously praising the city is just silly. They might be amused or annoyed, but beyond that, not much. Post your name if you want your comments to be taken seriously--you are entitled to your opinion like everyone else. When you keep posting as Anonymous, you risk sounding like a publicity agent for the the mayor and the city. Most residents agree that the mayor is doing some things for the neighborhood well and that others still need improvement, and they are being engaged citizens to say so. What retaliation could you reasonably be afraid of? A neighbor lobbing tomatoes on your porch with little notes that say "Stop loving the mayor so much" ?

Anonymous said...

Sorry Noel but this was my first post, I didn't even know about the blog and I am not a pulicity agent for the mayor or the city. Duh, do you think openly wone person is going to be anonymous in a small city where everyone know each other?

I am appreciative of the clean and safe campaigns efforst and accomplishments to date. It;s that simple. Maybe you weren't here in the really bad days.

noel jones said...

Anon, it's called the "writer's voice"--your language is very consistent. You'll have to try a little harder to disguise yourself if you're that afraid that your neighbor might figure out who you are and "retaliate," which I still think is an excuse to not identify yourself. If you're that afraid of your neighbor, you should trust our officers and call them. But in a year of this blog, the only comments of this sort have come from Anonymous, and only since our last meeting with the mayor & city. All opinions are welcome here, in fact, encouraged, because you can't get a healthy debate going on any topic if everyone is in agreement. A good example is the security cameras. Some people are excited about them, and others are against it. All are good neighbors with valid opinions about how they think the cameras will effect the neighborhood for better or for worse, and its a valuable debate to have. Another is the beer distributor on Northampton. Some are in favor of any business that will keep buildings from standing vacant. Others don't want that kind of a business added to the businesses already on Northampton--again, a worthy debate that deals with real issues, not character assaults. Please keep your comments civil and focused on the issues. Thanks.