April 10, 2008
A few Saturdays ago I was outside trimming the Mesquite tree that has taken over my humble front yard when I heard a loud bang across the street. That was followed by immediate howls of laughter and screams of hysteria and explicative language that I’m all too familiar with working at a high school. Usually it indicates that kids are caught up in doing things they shouldn’t be doing.
The excitement was coming from a home across the way that has been on the market for some time (like many of the investments gone sour in our community). I proceeded to walk over and find unfamiliar faces, teenagers I did not recognize, hanging out in a vacant home driveway taking advantage of the open real estate with their skate boards. They were not doing anything illegal, they were simply hanging where they weren’t supposed to, being loud and obnoxious (a characteristic I will admit I too maintained many moons ago).
“Hey boys, what’s up?” was my question.
“Nothing,” was the reply, heads down with smiles and giggles as if to say I was not in on the joke.
“You guys buying this house?” was my next question. They laughed and then looked puzzled as we made eye contact. My question, which they had perceived as a joke, was slightly sarcastic but mostly serious.
Silence.
“I would love to see someone move in here, it’s been empty for a few years.”
Silence.
“We’re not doin’ anything,” a boy replied, hair draped over his eyes.
“I never said you were, I just didn’t recognize you guys and wanted to come over and say ‘what’s up’.”
I was losing them.
Then one boy looked up and said “Sorry bro, we aren’t doing anything. We were just hanging out in the shade.”
“What’s your name?” I asked, and he told me. “What’s up (kid’s name). We are all pretty good friends on this street, and I heard you guys laughing and I’m always looking for a good joke. You guys are welcome here, but I don’t think this property owner would appreciate you being here, unless of course you’re thinking of buying,” I gave a friendly smile.
They shrugged their shoulders and left on their skate boards.
Why am I telling you this? Those boys know who I am and know that I’m going to say hi when I see them. In the classroom this is called “proximity.” It’s a classroom management technique where the teacher walks the classroom to deter any distracting behaviors. Remember the feeling when your high school teacher would stand next to you in class, the idea is that you feel like you are being watched?
Surprise is a community of great neighborhoods, but the sentiment of many emails I’ve received from residents who have run into problems with young kids is that these kids are destroying our neighborhoods. It is all too obvious that we are becoming the ghetto of the Northwest Valley,” was a line I recently received.
Neighborhood Block Watch is a great opportunity for communities to come together, get to know each other, and work as a team to watch each others backs.
We are going to have crime, and as we grow, crime will grow, too. I will make public safety and code enforcement a priority with the budget. My wish, as is many of yours, is to have a police officer on every street corner. I strive for that, but I understand that it is not realistic.
We as residents, can make a bigger impact through effective implementation of Neighborhood Block Watch. It’s not the final answer, but when used properly it is a very effective tool.
Stay tuned to the “Council Conversations” program, I will be putting together a show that will outline how you can build a very effective Neighborhood Watch program. We will model the Copper Canyon community which has built a team of 70+ Block Captains. This will benefit you, your block, your community, and our entire city!!!
The excitement was coming from a home across the way that has been on the market for some time (like many of the investments gone sour in our community). I proceeded to walk over and find unfamiliar faces, teenagers I did not recognize, hanging out in a vacant home driveway taking advantage of the open real estate with their skate boards. They were not doing anything illegal, they were simply hanging where they weren’t supposed to, being loud and obnoxious (a characteristic I will admit I too maintained many moons ago).
“Hey boys, what’s up?” was my question.
“Nothing,” was the reply, heads down with smiles and giggles as if to say I was not in on the joke.
“You guys buying this house?” was my next question. They laughed and then looked puzzled as we made eye contact. My question, which they had perceived as a joke, was slightly sarcastic but mostly serious.
Silence.
“I would love to see someone move in here, it’s been empty for a few years.”
Silence.
“We’re not doin’ anything,” a boy replied, hair draped over his eyes.
“I never said you were, I just didn’t recognize you guys and wanted to come over and say ‘what’s up’.”
I was losing them.
Then one boy looked up and said “Sorry bro, we aren’t doing anything. We were just hanging out in the shade.”
“What’s your name?” I asked, and he told me. “What’s up (kid’s name). We are all pretty good friends on this street, and I heard you guys laughing and I’m always looking for a good joke. You guys are welcome here, but I don’t think this property owner would appreciate you being here, unless of course you’re thinking of buying,” I gave a friendly smile.
They shrugged their shoulders and left on their skate boards.
Why am I telling you this? Those boys know who I am and know that I’m going to say hi when I see them. In the classroom this is called “proximity.” It’s a classroom management technique where the teacher walks the classroom to deter any distracting behaviors. Remember the feeling when your high school teacher would stand next to you in class, the idea is that you feel like you are being watched?
Surprise is a community of great neighborhoods, but the sentiment of many emails I’ve received from residents who have run into problems with young kids is that these kids are destroying our neighborhoods. It is all too obvious that we are becoming the ghetto of the Northwest Valley,” was a line I recently received.
Neighborhood Block Watch is a great opportunity for communities to come together, get to know each other, and work as a team to watch each others backs.
We are going to have crime, and as we grow, crime will grow, too. I will make public safety and code enforcement a priority with the budget. My wish, as is many of yours, is to have a police officer on every street corner. I strive for that, but I understand that it is not realistic.
We as residents, can make a bigger impact through effective implementation of Neighborhood Block Watch. It’s not the final answer, but when used properly it is a very effective tool.
Stay tuned to the “Council Conversations” program, I will be putting together a show that will outline how you can build a very effective Neighborhood Watch program. We will model the Copper Canyon community which has built a team of 70+ Block Captains. This will benefit you, your block, your community, and our entire city!!!
