"Fighting crime is a community effort"

Last night this guy was on his cell phone for over an hour casing the area pictured above. There is a fence and  entrances to businesses not visible in this second photo which I took this morning. Last I called EPD to report the situation.

An officer did respond. EPD Crime Analyst Brittany Powell told me, "No report was taken but a person was contacted.  No arrests made.

This is the area where the woman was assaulted last  November and ultimately passed away.

This area behind the beige building is constantly a magnet for junkies and people fighting day and night. I have written several posts about activity in this area. If that area was sealed off, it would reduce such activity. The locked fence belongs to a different building and that lock was placed after persistent effort on my part. But nothing deter access to determined criminals. The gas station on 5th has a security guard at night but that has not made a difference in the surrounding area.

Fighting crime is a community effort. Property owners and residents need to step up and be active participants in solutions that could help reduce crime and the impact on the community. Watch out for your neighbors and businesses.