5/31/11 Update:

Another Good WS Watch Meeting

We had another well attended WS Watch meeting on Thursday, May 26, 2011.  15 homes were represented and over 25 people were on hand.  I included some pictures of the meeting below.  Thanks to all of you that made the effort to attend.  You continue to help make our street a wonderful community and a street with pride of residency!

Officer Dineen and Eriksen were on hand representing the Whittier PD and gave us a great update on our crime statistics for Section 3.  I am so happy to report that we have had no major crime on our street since the beginning of this year.  This is another testament to the continued efforts by all the Walnut Street residents to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity on our street.  You all should be very proud!

Other agenda items that we discussed were:

1- Signs and Postings:  We now know the process to have signs posted on our street. I will be asking for volunteers to go to every home on the block to collect signatures to approve the posting of Security Signs (example below).  Our WPD Officers encouraged us to use them and felt they would go a long way to continue helping to deter crime on our street.  Once enough signatures are collected I will go to the next Whittier City Council meeting to ask for permission to post the signs.  This official approval will allow the signs to be posted on city property and will also ensure that any signs that are vandalized or stolen will be replaced by the city.

2-  Friendship Day BBQ on June 11:  We reminded folks of the coming June 11, 2011, Friendship Day BBQ at Kenny and Mary's home and encouraged folks to RSVP by 5/28. 

3-  4th of July Block Party - We had 3 volunteers to lead the activities committee for our annual Walnut Street 4th of July Block Party.  More communications will be coming in the next month regarding the festivities, activities planned and to request volunteers as needed for the event.  Donations will also be requested for the $100 block closure permit fee.

4- Jenny Grey's son will be coordinating the upcoming annual Walnut Street Garage/Yard Sale.  A date is yet to be determined but more communication will come either from me directly or by flyer on your doorstep...so keep a look out for it.

Special Thanks to Officer Dineen and Eriksen for their attendance and presentation.

Thanks again to all of you for continuing to make Walnut Street the best street to live on in Whittier.  You make it happen!

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding our WS Watch meeting or anything to do with our Walnut Street community activities.

In your service,

Michael Ortiz

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Thanks to those of you who attended our last WS Watch meeting on Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - 6:30PM @ 13427. It was well attended and very informative.

What was discussed?:

  1. The recent Emergency Preparedness Program developed by our own Kim Romig and discuss our participation in the Great Quake Shakeout scheduled for October 15 @ 10am. 
  2. PODs - What are they and which one are you in?  Go here to see the POD list for Walnut Street.
  3. We reviewed recent crime statistics for our area and street and Ofc. Benjamin was on hand to answer any questions. I am happy to say that our efforts at staying vigilent are paying off.  Crime is almost completely non-existent on Walnut Street and that is attributable in part to the steps many of us have taken such as installing alarm systems, placing surviellance cameras on the street, putting up crime watch and other security notice signs, leaving lights on at night or turning on motion lighting, watching for suspicious activity on the block and staying aware, in general, of what is going on around our homes and in our neighborhood.  Keep up the good work and don't think we can rest now.  Stay vigilent.
  4. I gave a demonstration of my FrontPoint Security system for any that are interested.

-From June 2009-

CRIME UPDATE for the Walnut Street Neighborhood Residents
Walnut Street Crime Is Going Down!  PLEASE CONTINUE TO BE VIGILANT AND TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR PROPERTY!

I recently received an email from our Whittier PD Area Officer, Officer Roy Benjamin.  The email lists recent criminal activity in our area and I am happy to say NO CRIME IS HAPPENING RECENTLY ON WALNUT STREET!  Your vigiliance is paying off and many of you have recently installed security systems which are helping to contribute to lower crime on Walnut Street.  I am confident the Security Notice signs

posted up and down the block are also helping make a difference too.  I am including the email here for your convenience so you can be aware of what is taking place and how to protect yourself and your property.  Please don't forget that residents of Walnut Street get a special Walnut Street discount when you order a security system from FrontPoint Security(www.frontpointsecurity.com).  Email webmaster@ourwalnutstreet.org for more information on how you can take advantage of this special offer.  I have the FrontPoint system and I love it.  I wouldn't mind showing you my system so you can see how it works first hand....At Your Service, Michael.

Michael, Hello, it is Officer Benjamin, sorry I have not been in contact with you for the past few weeks, I was actually out of town on vacation. I was able to find crime trends in the area over the past couple of months. Based off of the case search and crime statistics it appears the major problem in the area are property crimes such as vandalism, vehicle break-ins, and vehicle thefts. These crimes are not actually occurring on Walnut St. but on the streets around it like College Ave, Painter Ave, Via Del Palma Ave, and Mar Vista St. 

It appears that the Vandalisms are taking place in the evening and late night hours. It appears that the vehicle break-ins are happening during early morning hours between 4am and 8am. There were only two vehicle thefts in the area and they were late night and early morning hours. It would probably be beneficial to advise the residents on Walnut St. of the type of crime and the hours they are occurring. A suggestion to give the residents in the area is to report anyone out of place in the area during late night and early morning hours. Tell everyone to make sure they lock their vehicles at all hours of the day. Also another suggestion would be to not leave there vehicle running even if it is in their driveway. I think these are a few ideas that could help residents avoid being a victim of the property crimes in the area. If you need more information or suggestions or if you have any questions please feel free to email me at anytime. Thank you. -Benjamin

- From February 2009-

Please be aware that another neighbor's home on Walnut street was burglarized on Wednesday, 2/18.  The burglary happened in broad day light sometime between the hours of 9 AM and 2:30 PM.  Please inform you neighbors who may not have email or Internet access. 

The perpetrators accessed the home from the back street (Sunset Dr.) and broke a back window and opened a back door to gain access to the home.  They proceeded to steal small valuables and left the property through the back of the property jumping a wall to exit via the homes on Sunset.  It is important at this time to remind you to reach out to your neighbors that may live on the streets directly behind you (Sunset Dr. or Via Del Palma Ave.). 
 
Mary Kanenbley wrote an excellent letter and distributed it to the neighbors on Sunset Dr. and Via Del Palma Ave to ensure they too were aware of this recent criminal activity.  I am including the letter here for your convenience:
Hello Sunset St. Neighbors!

We would like to inform you of recent burglaries that have occurred to your neighbors on Walnut St. In the past few weeks there have been several homes that have been broken into during the day. They have taken valuables that can be easily carried off, such as jewelry, cameras, laptops, etc. It appears that they are entering and leaving the homes through the back, perhaps using Sunset St. as their access. Firstly, please be vigilant so that this does not occur on your street to you or to your neighbors.  We are living in worrisome times and break-ins such as these may be happening with more frequency.    We on Walnut St have a neighborhood watch in effect, but even with this it does not eliminate the potential re-occurrence of future burglaries. It would be helpful if we could enlist your help as well, to be alert and aware of unusual activity on your street. We would have each others back so to speak. Our combined action could help keep criminals out of our neighborhoods. In the interest of keeping our streets safe and being neighborly it would benefit us all to get to know our back neighbors as well as our side neighbors.On behalf of your Walnut St neighbors, we look forward to meeting you!

Please continue to be vigilant.  Remember the tips from our last Neighborhood Watch meeting:

  • Install an alarm system. I have a quote from Future Tech to install an alarm system.  Recommended by our NW Officer Jason Zuhlke.  Please let me know if you are interested in this alarm system so I can try and get the best deal possible for all residents.  Perhaps if enough of us want to do this we can get a better cost quote.
  • Check locks on all your doors and ensure they are working
  • Keep outside lighting on at night or install motion detector lighting around your home
  • Keep a dog as a deterrent to crimes of opportunity
  • Notify your Block Captain and your close neighbors if you suspect suspicious activity and report it to the Whittier PD
  • Report any suspicious persons or vehicles you don't recognize on the street

_____________________________________________________________________________________

One of your fellow neighbors had their house robbed during a recent installation of their Verizon FIOS (internet/phone/tv) service, in broad daylight! This happened last Friday. The technician showed up for the install and part way through the install an additional 4-6 "service technician trainees and field reps" showed up as well. The neighbor was informed that this was a "normal" procedure for training and felt secure enough to allow the installation process to continue. While the neighbor tried their best to keep an eye out during the install they were unable to keep their eye on every one of the technicians working in and around the house. Needless to say many small but valuable items were discovered missing late last night and are assumed stolen.

The Whittier PD and Officer Jason Zhulke are investigating as are Verizon and the third party installation vendor used for the job. I know many of you have had or will soon have this FIOS service installed but please remember:

  • Always get the name and employee number from the technician and call their company and Verizon FIRST to confirm and validate them BEFORE you let them into your home.
  • Refuse to allow "training" in your home. This is NOT standard procedure for Verizon.
  • If at anytime you are not comfortable with allowing them access to your home, ask them to leave, call the police and/or have a neighbor you trust with you to assist in watching the technician at all times
  • Please report any robbery or theft to your local Whittier PD and your block captain so I can assist with communication to the entire neighborhood Walnut Street Watch list.

Over 40 Attend February 2nd Walnut Street Watch Meeting

Thanks to those neighbors that took the time to attend this meeting.  We had great participation.

Special Thanks to Refugio and Angelica Lopez and Hector and Laurie Calderon for their help in providing chairs and the projector screen.  See photos on the Photos/News page.

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Tips on detering crime in our neighborhood:

  • Check locks on all your doors and ensure they are working
  • Keep outside lighting on at night or install motion detector lighting around your home
  • Keep a dog as a deterrent to crimes of opportunity
  • Notify your Block Captain and your close neighbors if you suspect suspicious activity and report it to the Whittier PD.
  • Report any suspicious persons or vehicles you don't recognize on the street

____________________________________________________

Over 30 Attend First Walnut Street Watch Meeting for 2008!

Held on Tuesday, August 19 at 6:30 PM, the meeting was a great success. Officer Jason Zuhlke, Steve Dean and Roy Benjamin of the Whittier Police Department were present and introduced us to the Neighborhood Watch Program.  All totaled we had 19 homes and over 55 residents represented.

If you were unable to make this meeting please make plans to attend our next meeting in the Fall (date TBD).  You don't want to miss it!

Thanks to Kenny and Mary for their wonderful hospitality and desserts, Laurie for being our Parking Attendant, Miguel for the projector and Refugio for the projector screen.  Thanks to all of you who attended and participated.....our Walnut Street Watch is off to a great start!

Trivia:

Did you know that if you add together all the years that those in attendance have lived on Walnut Street it comes to 167 years!  WOW.

I wrote a letter of thanks on behalf of the Neighbors of Walnut Street to the Officers and wanted to share it here for those that were unable to attend:

from: webmaster@ourwalnutstreet.org

Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:11:05

To: <rbenjamin@cityofwhittier.org>; <jzuhlke@cityofwhittier.org>; <sdean@cityofwhittier.org>

Subject: Walnut Street Neighbors Thank You!

 

Dear Officers Zuhlke, Dean and Benjamin:

Just a quick note of thanks to you for coming to our recently restarted Walnut Street "Watch" meeting last night. It was a pleasure to meet you and to hear how you are willing to partner with the neighbors of Walnut Street to make our street and city a safer and friendlier place to live. I recieved wonderful feedback from those in attendance that the meeting was successful and that this is a wonderful start for our Walnut Street Neighborhood Watch Program. We couldn't have done this without you!

Here are some items we wanted to remind you about that you would followup with us on:

1- New NW signs for the light posts on our street. Is it possible to get a sign for each light post?

2- The cost and logistics involved in getting a radar, solar-powered "Your Current Speed" sign installed at both the East and West sides of the street to aid in deterring speeders on our street.

3- Information on contacting the Alcohol and Beverage Control (ABC)for temporary alcohol permits during our Block Parties.

4- Jason mentioned that we could contact him when we are ready to have our next block party so he can possibly get the registration or Block Party fee waived since we are a well coordinated and involved NW program in the city of Whittier.

In addition, per your request, attached you will find a soft copy (in MS Excel format)of the neighbors that attended the meeting along with their contact information. To protect the privacy and confidentiality of our neighbors, I have password protected the document and will send that password to Officer Zuhlke only in a separate email.

We trust this is just the beginning in building a strong and successful relationship between the neighbors of Walnut Street and the Whittier Police Department who have sworn to "serve and protect". Together we can be catalysts for change on our street, in our city, and beyond.

It is an honor and a privledge to be the Walnut Street Block Captain partnering with you and serving the residents of Walnut Street.

Sincerely,

Michael Ortiz, Block Captain and Resident

www.ourwalnutstreet.org