Worcester’s Neighborhood Watch Wants End to Violence

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Patrick Sargent, GoLocal Worcester Contributor

A rash of shootings, stabbings and robberies is spreading throughout the city and the members of Worcester’s Neighborhood Watch Programs have had enough.

Last month, GoLocal reported on a weekend full of trouble on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester. Multiple stabbings and an armed robbery happened within 48 hours from each other and only a few blocks apart. Gary Vecchio, president of the Shrewsbury Street neighborhood group, said "That particular weekend was extremely unique on Shrewsbury Street. It was one of those things where everything converged in a 48 hour period."

The Shrewsbury Street Neighborhood Association is one of 50 neighborhood watch meetings in the city. Vecchio said, the Shrewsbury Street watch is "one of the most active and vibrant neighborhood associations." The watch is into its 14th year now and averages between 30 to 50 people per meeting, making it one of the highest attended meetings in the city.

"We have had a very good working relationship with the Worcester Police Department and with their Community Impact Division for all 14 years," said Vecchio.

Community Impact is a Presence

Present at each meeting is a police officer from the Community Impact Division. Unlike the Operation Division of the Worcester Police Department, the Community Impact Division officers do not have to always be available for emergency calls, giving them the time to speak with members of the community and making their presence felt in neighborhoods. Officers of the Community Impact Division can not only be found at neighborhood watch meetings, but also serve as School Liason officers. The primary strategies of these officers are to identify causes of complaints made by citizens, and walk the "beat" of Impact Areas.

Jennithan Cortes, a member of the Shrewsbury Street Association, said "They have a police officer who reports in on a monthly basis and provides reports on what's going on in the area. He gives an oppurtunity to the police officer on duty who is a member of the community to interact with other members of the community. And it allows those members to highlight any issues or concerns they might have. And then the police can make note of that and report back on any findings they have."

"I think in the overall scheme of things," said Cortes, "criminal activity has heightened. I think the police need to respond to it and I think they will. It's a two way communication with the people feeling comfortable and the police officers actively involved in those conversations."

Unfortunate Shooting Record In Sight

Early Saturday morning, Worcester police responded to a report of two 23-year-old male gun shot victims who had just walked into the emergency room at Memorial Hospital.

The shooting victims, who were suffering from non-life threatening injuries, were standing on a porch on Merrifield Street. The street borders Chandler Hill Park and is off of Belmont Street. According to the victims, a car drove by and fired shots at them. However, they could not provide a description of the vehicle.

These victims are the most recent of a high number of violent crimes this year in Worcester. To date, there have been 31 shootings in the city, just two away from Worcester’s highest total of 33 in 2005.

Things Are Cleaning Up on Shrewsbury Street

After the tumultous weekend, Police Chief Gary Gemme committed to putting foot patrols in the area to make people safe. As Vecchio puts it, "To let the bad guys know we don't put up with that stuff."

Vecchio said, "The reason Shrewsbury Street is successful as 'Restaurant Row' is because people feel safe walking up and down the street. The day people don't feel safe on Shrewsbury Street, 'Restaurant Row' dies.

The Shrewsbury Street meeting gathers the third Thursday of every month at 7pm at the Mount Carmel Recreation Center. Their next scheduled meeting is November 20th.

Related Slideshow: Worcester’s Most Dangerous Neighborhoods

Neighborhood search website Neighborhood Scout indexed violent and property crimes data from the Federal Bureau of Investigations to determine the crime rates on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis in Worcester. The slides below show the overall crime index (a score of 100 is best) as well as the per capita crime rates broken down by violent and property crime. The data is sourced from 2011 figures, the most recent year available from the FBI. The online resource is created by Location, Inc., a Worcester-area company that bills itself as a leader of location-based data and risk analysis information.

Worcester’s Neighborhood Watch Wants End to Violence

Community Impact is a Presence

Unfortunate Shooting Record In Sight

Things Are Cleaning Up on Shrewsbury Street

Related Slideshow: Worcester’s Most Dangerous Neighborhoods

38. Heard Street

Crime Index: 83 (100 is safest)

37. Main St / Goddard Memorial Dr

Crime Index: 73 (100 is safest)

36. Westchester / Assumption

Crime Index: 70 (100 is safest)

35 (tie). Mill St / Worcester State U

Crime Index: 67 (100 is safest)

35 (tie). Oakland Heights / Massasoit

Crime Index: 67 (100 is safest)

33 (tie). Jamesville / Ludlow

Crime Index: 65 (100 is safest)

33 (tie). Burncoat

Crime Index: 65 (100 is safest)

31. Chadwick Square

Crime Index: 61 (100 is safest)

30. Sunderland

Crime Index: 60 (100 is safest)

29. Webster Square

Crime Index: 59 (100 is safest)

28. Westwood Hills

Crime Index: 57 (100 is safest)

27. North Worcester / Summit

Crime Index: 55 (100 is safest)

26. Pleasant St.

Crime Index: 48 (100 is safest)

25 (tie). Greendale

Crime Index: 47 (100 is safest)

25 (tie). Bloomingdale

Crime Index: 47 (100 is safest)

23. Clark U / Main St

Crime Index: 46 (100 is safest)

22. Tatnuck / West Tatnuck

Crime Index: 45 (100 is safest)

21. Lakeview

Crime Index: 43 (100 is safest)

20. Holy Cross / College St

Crime Index: 39 (100 is safest)

19 (tie). Columbus Park

Crime Index: 37 (100 is safest)

19 (tie). Hamilton

Crime Index: 37 (100 is safest)

17. Brittan Square

Crime Index: 34 (100 is safest)

16. Pinecrest

Crime Index: 33 (100 is safest)

Violent Crimes per 1000 residents: 5.65

15 (tie). City Center

Crime Index: 29 (100 is safest)

Violent Crimes per 1000 residents: 16.8

15 (tie). South Worcester

Crime Index: 29 (100 is safest)

13. Beaver Brook

Crime Index: 28 (100 is safest)

12 (tie). Swan Avenue

Crime Index: 24 (100 is safest)

12 (tie). June Street

Crime Index: 24 (100 is safest)

10 (tie). University Park

Crime Index: 20 (100 is safest)

10 (tie). Quinsigamond Village / College Hill

Crime Index: 20 (100 is safest)

8 (tie). Umass Medical / Lake Ave N

Crime Index: 16 (100 is safest)

8 (tie). Water St / Grafton St

Crime Index: 16 (100 is safest)

6 (tie). Beverly Road

Crime Index: 15 (100 is safest)

6 (tie). WPI / Highland St

Crime Index: 15 (100 is safest)

4. Oak Hill

Crime Index: 13 (100 is safest)

3. Belmont Hill / Shrewsbury St

Crime Index: 8 (100 is safest)

2. Chandler Hill