TPD District 2 Headquarters' open house was well attended, with standing room only. Chief Jane Castor spoke about the reorganization of the police dept. squads from SAC and QUAD being combined to form ROC. She explained that ROC members handle all aspects of policing, rather than being more specialized as they were under QUAD and SAC. Over the past 8 yars crime in Tampa has decreased over 60%.
Several attendees thanked Chief Castor for helping to turn around the quality of life in their neighborhoods by cleaning up the criminal activity. Chief Castor reminded all in attendance that without the support of the Neighborhood Watch groups, it would not have been possible to even make a dent in clearing out the criminal activities: neighbors have to be willing to report problems and make phone calls to TPD when they see a crime in progress, rather than turn a "blind eye" to the problems. Because the NHW groups were willing to take a stand to turn around their neighborhods, areas such as Sulphur Springs are a much safer place in which to live.
The song continues to be: NHW is the eyes and ears of the police. Without support and participation from NHW members, the police are very restricted in what they can do to combat crime. If we want our neighborhoods to remain safe, we must keep watching. Please, network with your neighbors to help protect your home.
