The Summit Neighborhood Association checked-in recently with Lt. Sciavulli of our Community Police Station—District 8 to learn if there were any trends or recent concerns for which we should be alert.
Following the [despicable] tire slashing at the end of December, crime appears to have moderated in January in sub-district 8-3 (largely the Summit area) with two exceptions: There were three robberies. Two of these robberies were at the Hess gas station, allegedly by the same person. This person was arrested. Additionally there were 10 larcenies from motor vehicles (these occur on the street and in driveways) as pocket-change and electronic devices out in the open entice the criminals.
Here is the Providence Police crime report for Subdistrict 8-3 for January 1 through January 28:
1 motor vehicle theft
1 breaking and entering (a house on Summit St.)
5 other larcenies
2 simple assaults
2 vandalisms
The remaining areas of District 8 (sub-district 8-1 and 8-2 combined) for the same period saw:
4 motor vehicle thefts
2 aggravated assaults
11 larcenies from motor vehicles
2 breaking and entering
4 other larcenies
4 simple assaults
6 drug arrests
6 vandalisms
Categories: General NewsHealth/Safety
2 Comments
Tony Adams · February 27, 2007 at 10:44 am
I’m a resident of District 8. Last Friday evening (02-23-2007), between 6:15 and 6:45 PM, my car was burglarized while I was parked on Fifth Street, just off Hope Street, waiting to pick up some food at Not Just Snacks.
While I was waiting for take-out, the perpetrator broke out the left rear passenger window and grabbed my laptop bag, crossed to the other side of Fifth Street and rifled through the laptop looking for items of value, discarding the rest along the sidewalk and into the bushes. An IBM ThinkPad T60, its charger, and a black video Ipod 60G were stolen.
The stolen items are replaceable (approx. $2200 in value). The window is repairable (approx $400). Some of the data on the laptop was not backed up so I suffer here for not following best practices. But that sense of safety I had in my own neighborhood cannot be recovered quite so easily.
After doing some research, I came to realize that this type of crime is not uncommon in our neighborhood, that I’m not the first and most likely won’t be the last. In fact, the latest blog entry on the SNA website details recent crime stats for District 8, with 11 larcenies from motor vehicles between January 1 and January 28 alone. That is an alarming number, in my opinion, for any neighborhood, a theft every 2.5 days.
Had I been more in tune with the pulse of my neighborhood, I certainly would have understood the need to employ the same safety measures I do when traveling into unfamiliar areas, stowing my laptop bag in the trunk or at least covering it with a blanket or coat.
Be aware of individuals ‘casually’ looking into cars parked along the street. They may seem to be checking their hair in someone’s rear view mirror, but are probably casing the items within and waiting for the right moment to strike. I witnessed a vehicle larceny in broad daylight several years ago while dining up near Federal Hill. That was the approach used then and is probably a common tactic.
Also, I would urge everyone to spread the word and raise awareness about the state of our neighborhood. And certainly take precautions with what you leave in plain view within in your vehicles or you may unfortunately find yourself in the same state.
Tony Adams
Resident – District 8
Providence, RI 02906
Andrew Cox · February 21, 2007 at 8:40 pm
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