Although property crime was down from 2015 to 2016 in San Antonio, downtown neighborhoods are vulnerable. In Beacon Hill we have been victims of break-ins and theft. Individuals roam the neighborhood and steal furniture and other items off porches and sell to local businesses or online. We have areas in which drug dealers do their business in broad sight of neighbors. We have people buying “tall boys” from convenience stores, getting drunk and congregating in yards (often using them to urinate) or at VIA bus stops. Law enforcement is an important piece of the puzzle but neighborhoods prevent crime. A concerned and active group of citizens can make our neighborhood an uncomfortable place for drug dealers, thieves, and other criminals. We are the eyes on the street.
Here are five ways we can prevent crime in Beacon Hill:
1 Work with our District One Councilman, the City services, and Beacon Hill Area Neighborhood Association on solving common problems.
2 Report a crime if you witness it or something you suspect might be a crime. Create partnership with police, focused on solving problems instead of reacting to crises. Make it possible for neighbors to report suspicious activity or crimes without fear of retaliation. If you do not report a crime or “suspicious activity” the crime does not happen in the eyes of the police.
3 Set up a Neighborhood Watch or a Citizens on Patrol (COPS), working with police. Make sure your streets and homes are well lighted.
4 Be watchful and use social media to alert people about crimes in the area as we have done recently on Facebook exposing an individual who stole and then sold to a local antique store on Hildebrand.
5 Clean up the neighborhood! Involve everyone—teens, children, senior citizens. Litter, abandoned cars, and run-down buildings tell criminals that you don’t care about where you live or each other. Call the city public works department and ask for help in cleaning up.
Join your neighbors on Saturday February 25th at 8:30 a.m. at Rosewood and Blanco for an alley clean up showing our resolve to take back our neighborhood and make it safe. If you are unable to work, bring some breakfast treats, make some posters!