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Story by Scott Mickulas
A recent wave of crime events in Northern Manhattan, including an attack on a local woman by an off-duty police officer, prompted a meeting this week about starting a new civilian patrol for community members to help keep northern Manhattan residents safe.
New York State Senator Adriano Espaillat’s office hosted the community meeting at his district office this past Wed., Nov. 16th with Community Affairs officers from the 34th Precinct in attendance, as well as officers from NYPD’s Community Affairs Bureau.
Elizabeth Lorris-Ritter, Community Liaison for Senator Espaillat, said the meeting was called in response to community members’ concerns about several recent high profile incidents in Inwood and the subsequent interest in starting a civilian patrol.
Officer Dion Harris, from the NYPD’s Special Projects Unit in the Community Affairs Bureau, discussed some of the factors in organizing a Civilian Observation Patrol. He pointed out that this meeting was called to sort out issues regarding the legality and the safety of community members patrolling their neighborhood.
“Citizens act as the extended eyes and ears of the Police Department,” explained Officer Harris. “Civilian Patrols are not enforcement units; their objective is to observe street conditions or incidents and report them. A civilian patrol would concentrate more on quality of life issues such as broken streetlights, as opposed to looking out for crimes.”
Officer Harris noted that a civilian patrol is a volunteer force of community members that know the community well, so they easily can recognize something out of place.
When asked where exactly the patrols would take place, Officer Harris advised people to start with their own neighborhood.
As community member Patrick said, “I live, work, breathe here. I would rather spend time here then some other place that I’m not connected to. I could help more in my neighborhood than others.”
Long-time resident Anthony Walker asked why Inwood used to have a civilian patrol and a vehicle but no longer did.
Community Affairs Officer Haydee Pabey, of the 34th Precinct, says the Police Commissioner dissolved the old Inwood patrol because some members took it over. “We want everyone to be included, [and] to be heard. We want everyone to be equal,” Pabey responded.
Inwood resident Aaron Simms afterwards said he thought the meeting was a success, “because it began a dialogue between the Precinct and a happy few in the community. This relationship needs to be fostered and I'm willing to do what I can to encourage that partnership to preserve the peace and keep Inwood Manhattan's best neighborhood.”
As the meeting broke up outside of Senator Espaillat’s office, with several community members huddled against the rain, Simms says he has “arranged to have a meeting in two weeks in the neighborhood. Our goal is to reach out to all in the Inwood/Washington Heights community to relay this all-inclusive opportunity to volunteer and make a difference.”
For more information on a possible civilian patrol for northern Manhattan, please call Senator Adriano Espaillat’s office at 212.544.0173. Interested community residents could also reach Aaron Sims at
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