Councilman eyes text-alert plan for reporting crimes

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A pilot program slated for West Toledo's Old Orchard neighborhood soon could take the Block Watch concept to a new, digitally infused level by issuing text alerts to residents as soon as crimes are reported.

District 5 Councilman Tom Waniewski, an ardent technology enthusiast, is spearheading development of the program that he said will give residents real-time information about crimes in Old Orchard and hopefully prompt them to look out for suspicious activity to report to police.

The idea is being floated at a time of increased concern about crime in the city and dwindling numbers of police officers on the streets.

"I look at it as an extra set of eyes for the police. [Residents] can hopefully provide information that would help police solve a crime," he explained. "We don't have enough police. The mayor and police said they want more community involvement. To me this is a perfect opportunity."

The program would be free and open to anyone with a cell phone who wants to sign up for the text alerts. Mr. Waniewski said a tech-savvy friend and former business partner, Dave Bonitati, is helping develop the system free of charge.

The idea is to take coded information that dispatchers input into the police communications system, filter it for location and content, and send it out to people's phones.

Only crimes such as burglaries, break-ins, and shootings would prompt an alert, and they would have to occur within the Old Orchard neighborhood.

Mr. Waniewski said people who receive the text alerts and live close to the crime scene could look out their windows and take down license-plate numbers of fleeing vehicles or watch out for a potential criminal on the loose.

Not that Old Orchard is a particularly crime-ridden area. The neighborhood, close to the University of Toledo, is one of the most affluent in the city and generally a peaceful place to live.

Nevertheless, an attack last summer during which a woman was raped and stabbed put many residents on edge, prompting nearly 100 to attend an Old Orchard Block Watch neighborhood safety meeting. Mr. Waniewski said residents there expressed a strong interest in improving the neighborhood flow of information about crimes,

Block Watch leader Matthew Harrison said he sends out email alerts about crimes and safety tips to some 350 subscribers in Old Orchard. He takes the information from police and media reports, but not from the communications system in the way Mr. Waniewski has proposed. Most of the crimes are car or garage break-ins. Mr. Harrison said he believes a text-alert system would be used widely.

"I think it's just the timeliness of the information. Today the information we get is on a delay. We don't really know about it until it's been published by the police or The Blade or other media," he said. "Texting would be more instantaneous."

Mr. Harrison cited a recent incident in which a person was spotted looking into neighborhood cars. The person fled when police arrived.

If more residents had been watching the incident it would have been harder for the suspect to run away, the block watch leader said.

Law enforcement officials expressed cautious support for the text alert plan. Toledo Police Department spokesman Sgt. Joe Heffernan said the program could be useful for police if it works.

"Any time when we can get information flowing from police to the citizens and vice versa it's helpful," he said. "If this program will do that, then that's going to be a good thing."

Mr. Waniewski said he would like to expand the system to other parts of Toledo if it proves successful.

"If we get 1,000 households that opt into this then we will try [all of] District 5, then the rest of the city," he said. "I want to take one step at a time and make sure it works."

The councilman has been active in implementing other technologically driven ideas for his district, including an electronic newsletter and, most recently, the city's first online district budget hearing.

Old Orchard residents walking through the neighborhood Friday afternoon gave the councilman's text alert idea a thumbs up.

"I think it's a great idea," said Lois Whiteman, a 69-year-old retiree. "I think it would make the neighbors more aware of what's gong on."

However, Ms. Whiteman said she wouldn't sign up for the system herself because she can't text on her phone.

"Would it be free?" asked Margie Canary, 57, a teacher who lives in the area. "Well, it wouldn't hurt anything. People would be on the lookout then. Right now it's word of mouth."

Ali Alnaser, a 26-year-old University of Toledo student, said he doesn't think crime is much of a problem in Old Orchard. But he said he would sign up for the text alerts.

"I think it makes people not worry because you will know everything that's happening," he said. "If you know what's going on you will feel more safe."

Contact Claudia Boyd-Barrett cbarrett@theblade.com or 419-724-6272