Crime watch discusses alert system, failure to get crime statistics

The College Cultural Neighborhood Crime Watch Committee Oct. 7 discussed the Red Alert System, obtaining crime statistics and Halloween patrols.

President Mike Herriman explained the Red Alert System is a telephone network used to inform people of emergencies within the neighborhood. A first call is made to 911 then a second call automatically goes out to the 50 people in the system. Any person in the system can call into it.

Matt Schlinker discussed the recent use of the red alert system. After police were called about a shooting at J.B.'s on Dort Highway, a man backing out of the parking lot as the police arrived hit a parked car and fled. The man was pursued by the police until he hit a tree and ran down Mountain Street.

The alert system was used to notify residents the man was in the neighborhood. The system was later used to notify residents the man had been caught.

(The man was released because he was not involved in the shooting.)

The system was also used recently to alert residents of a loose pit bull that attacked a Vernon Street resident and his dog while walking in the neighborhood. The man suffered no injury but his dog was severely injured.

Craig Wolcott complained the Flint Police have ignored requests for neighborhood crime statistics. Wolcott said he sees the statistics as essential to gauging the efficacy of the crime watch.

"You don't know if you're being successful if you don't know where you started," he said.

Eric Young, a MCC police officer, said the MCC police do not keep statistics, but he believes crime has significantly decreased in the College Cultural neighborhood. Fewer calls have been made since the arrest and prosecution of a group of juveniles who were breaking into homes in the neighborhood last summer.

He recommended the group submit a written request for specific information under the Freedom of Information Act. The city has to submit statistics to the government for funding and they are publicly available, he said.

The city has announced trick-or-treating will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 30. Young said extra police will patrol the city Devil's Night and Halloween night.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

You can e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with comments about this story.