Downtown ward accounts for quarter of police calls

by Susan Clarke
HippoPress.com

Ward 3 accounts for nearly 25 percent of the city's calls for police service and Alderman Frank Guinta is out to do something about it.

Guinta, who represents Ward 3-primarily the downtown area-received the Manchester Police Department's 2001 Ward Crime Report recently and was shocked by what he saw. With such a large percentage of the city's calls for police service occurring within the boundaries of his ward, Guinta has outlined a plan of attack, starting with a community meeting on March 12, geared toward understanding and, ultimately, reducing crime.

"I am concerned that crime in the ward is much higher than in any other ward in the city," said Guinta.
The report is an annual publication of the MPD and outlines calls for police service received from each ward. Calls are split into three categories that are defined by officers' shifts throughout the day. For example, calls regarding drug activity throughout 2001 in Ward 3 came into the station at a rate of 29 during the day shift, 141 during the 4 p.m. to midnight shift, and 15 during the midnight shift.

Sgt. Lloyd Doughty pointed out that a call for service does not necessarily indicate a crime has been committed.
"A call for service can be anything from an alarm to an animal bite," said Doughty. "You're going to see more calls for service from areas where the population is greater."
While all other wards check in with anywhere from 4 to 10 percent of the city's calls, Ward 3 stands out. Of 99,783 calls for police service in 2001, 24,242 came from Ward 3.
"We're almost the smallest geographic area and a lot of the ward is the Merrimack River," Guinta said.

Guinta also pointed out that the ward is made up of the inner city and downtown areas, both of which generate more crime than other neighborhoods or areas in Manchester. The ward's borders include Clark Street, the Merrimack River, Union Street, and Silver Street.

"When I campaigned, people in the inner city said that they were worried about crime," said Guinta. "People would tell me about specific areas where people do drugs and if a resident knows, why can't we make an arrest and stop it?"

The alderman is taking the situation into his own hands and plans to sponsor a community meeting at Neighborhood Housing Services, 373 Union St., at 7 p.m. on March 12 for ward residents to discuss the situation.
"I want to identify what people's primary concerns are," said Guinta. "If, for example, we find there's a huge drug problem in downtown Manchester, then we need to get rid of it."

Getting rid of drugs or crime is easier said than done, but Guinta plans to meet with the MPD to discuss the statistics and explore community options. The alderman said that he'd like to see the community band together to tackle the problem, a notion that the police department supports.

"If the aldermen forge partnerships with the police department, the result will be folks getting together to be our eyes and ears," said Doughty. "That will make Manchester much safer."

Guinta conceded that the city's budget is especially tight this year and that reducing crime in the ward will consist of a grassroots effort.

"I want to get a handle on what the police department is doing," explained Guinta. "My meeting with them will be educational; I want to know about the programs they've instituted."

The MPD provides a variety of community services, ranging from officers on bicycles to neighborhood watches that work to reduce crime where it starts. Getting officers on the streets and available to residents is a goal of both Guinta and the MPD.

Ultimately, Guinta said that his efforts to reduce crime are consistent with the city's vision for itself.

"When a company wants to move to Manchester and asks about safety and crime, the statistics in the downtown area will turn them off," said Guinta. "When you look at the vision of the city, you'd like to see a reduction of crime in ten years."

Katie Benway can be reached at kbenway@hippopress.com