In lieu of an unanticipated increase in crime in the neighborhood, residents are now turning to Port Richmond’s Town Watch (PTRW) group for support, explanations and, above all, solutions. However, PTRW members say that some of the residents do not realize that Port Richmond’s Town Watch does not take the place of the police force.
“I think people expect Town Watch to be out seven days a week,” said longtime resident Patty-Pat Kozlowski. “They can’t patrol every night. Especially when they don’t have as many people as they used to when they first started.”
“It’s a shame that it takes something bad to happen to get anyone involved or motivated,” said town watch volunteer John Rajca.
The original Town Watch began as a response to a killing in Campbell Square in 1989. Members of Port Richmond were so upset that they began a community watch with over 100 members attending the first meeting. Today’s Town Watch is a group established by and for residents of Port Richmond to come together to discuss problems within the community. Through weekly events and meetings, Town Watch strives to work out various solutions to problems that arise.
“People tend to get upset when bad things happen to them,” Maryann Trombetta explained.
There are two parts to Town Watch, Eyes and Ears and Patrol. Residents who volunteer to serve on Eyes and Ears dedicate their time toward keeping a look out on their street. This requires paying closer attention to activity on the streets regarding children being out after dark, new graffiti on signs or sides of building and anything else that appears to be out of the ordinary. There is no established time frame that people of Eyes and Ears commit to participate in, only time they are willing to give throughout the day, week or month.
“We only ask them for an hour or two a week,” said Rajca. “They don’t even have to drive if they don’t want to. They can do Eyes and Ears.
The patrol involves more active participation. People who choose to volunteer go out every Friday and Saturday night throughout Port Richmond to monitor potential criminal activity and to report it to the police. Patrol members meet in Campbell Square at 7:30 p.m. to discuss their plans for the night, what routes everyone will take, and what they will look for while out on watch. Patrolling usually lasts around two hours, but on active nights, it could be much longer. Trombetta usually looks for new graffiti while Paul and Rajca drive around the neighborhood looking for teenagers or younger children out on the streets.
Both Ken and John have found children as young as 10 years old drinking alcohol in Campbell’s Square and drug dealers selling to young teens.
“They’ll buy stuff and put it into cans of soda,” said Rajca. “But you know it’s not soda.”
In the summertime, the patrol attempts to go out every night of the week and stay out longer on the weekends. The core group remains dedicated to the cause no matter what time of year.
While the patrol serves to inform residents on certain incidences cops tend to overlook, many people in the neighborhood tend to confuse Town Watch with the actual police force.
“We don’t go chasing after criminals,” said Trombetta. “We go out looking for quality of life issues like graffiti, dumping, underage drinking and kids fighting. But we never approach anyone. In this day and age, you never know what people are carrying. We leave that up to the cops.”
Even though crime is a prevalent problem in Port Richmond, support for Town Watch and long-term involvement are some important issues Town Watch faces.
“People are quick to ask ‘Where was Town Watch?’” said Kozlowski. “I just want to say well where the hell were you?”
“I grew up here and it breaks my heart to see what I see,” said Trombetta.
After some years of inactively, Trombetta decided to reignite the program after a murder in Campbell Square. She said around 300 people showed up for the first meeting. “If I had those… people we had at our first meeting, we could be out every night,” she said.
Though there seems to be a struggle in maintaining interest in keeping the Port Richmond safe, leaders of Town Watch remain positive and optimistic for the future.
“If I didn’t think any good would come out of this, I wouldn’t do it,” said Trombetta. “I’m doing it for a reason and I am hopeful that this neighborhood will be given the respect that it deserves.”
Town Watch is not the only major community group that dedicates its time for the “good of the community.”
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The block of Almond Street between Schiller and Tioga has become a favorite place for junkies to shoot up! In one week’s time 6 car windows were broken on that block! I would like to know why the police aren’t patrolling this area? I see drug needles, used comdoms and broken glass everyday! It looks like a war zone or North Philly! What do we have to do to get the police to gives us some protection?!
there is a blond hairgirl pulled back in a small pony tail robbing old ladies she asked if she can use the bathroom she said her name is milissa she goes out in the day time and early night she is all around port richmond and fishtown plus around belgrade belgrade and ann so beware donot let her in im still looking for her and so are the police
I will like to talk. I moved out 5 years ago. I am back. I want to help.