Another Millville Homicide

Last night we had the second shooting related death in five months.

City police continue to investigate the shooting death of a man at the Delsea Village Apartment complex Tuesday night.
Police have yet to release the identity of the slain man, and Delsea Village residents wouldn't discuss what happened last night.

There is one thing of which we are fairly certain, none of these incidents involve innocent bystanders. There is an entire underground culture that is swiftly overtaking the city. There is no easy answer, especially when you are stuck dealing with the aftermath of such atrocities as Delsea Gardens, a government project foisted on us by narrow-minded, short-sighted individuals who sold the soul of our city back in the 1970's.

Police Chief Tom Haas assures me that there is a plan, and the MPD is doing all that it can within the legal restraints to combat the gangs that are behind this reign of terror.  This infestation, that is fed by Cumberland County's idiocy in accepting 35% or more of the state's inmates and then allowing them to remain here upon their release rather than busing them back to the county where they were sentenced, has to be curtailed before we can see any real improvement in the neighborhoods.

I know we have quite a few people that follow this blog, I encourage anyone that has serious ideas or input to please comment.

Breaking News

Approximately 45 minutes ago, www.NJ.com is reporting a gunshot victim and ambulances needed (as well as a medical examiner which is not good) on South 2nd Street at Delsea Village Apartments. No other information available as of yet.

Adopt-A-Block 2012 schedule

February is just about here and that means Adopt-a-Block will be kicking off very shortly!

Please, mark your calendars for this years clean-ups.

Date/Time: 3rd Saturday of each month @ 10:00am

Place: St. Paul's Lutheran Church

Corner of 3rd & Mulberry

Millville, NJ
Event: Clean-up of Millville City Blocks

Saturday, February 18
Saturday, March 17

Saturday, April 21
Saturday, May 19

Saturday, June 16
Saturday, July 21

Saturday, August 18
Saturday, September 15

Saturday, October 20
Saturday, November 17

These clean-ups will be held at 10:00am at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church with food and drinks for everyone who participates following the clean-up.

Hope to see everyone at the clean-up!

Also, don't forget to "Like" us on Facebook or "Follow us" on Twitter (you can do so with the links below):

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Thanks,

--
Adopt-A-Block



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Center City Crime Watch holds first meeting

Center City Crime Watch of Millville held the first official meeting tonight.

The Center City Crime Watch of Millville held its first meeting Tuesday evening on the 100 block of 4th Street to a small group with big plans.
Mary Messeck, the leader of the initiative, was involved in the city’s crime watch involving the Third Ward and Millville Gardens during the 1990s and hopes to bring back the awareness and put the attention on the center city.
Her newsletter will soon be available at Bogarts Bookstore, as per her networking with the shop’s owner, and available at all city commission meetings.

I had other obligations tonight and was unable to attend this meeting. However, we did endorse the meeting and Mary at the recent CiPAC (Citizen-Police Advisory Council) meeting last week. If you are not already subscribed, we encourage you to add Center City Crime Watch of Millville to your Facebook account.

Also, we ensure privacy and confidentiality to anyone that would submit tips via this website.

Millville gets another police dog

Millville just added a fourth police dog to the force!

Imagine a police force with every patrol officer assigned a K9 partner.
Police Chief Thomas Haas does.
“A lot of people, where they don’t respect police, they do respect the dog,” Haas said. “Also, a dog’s nose is a lot more sensitive for drugs.”
Realistically, Haas said, six K9s might be the most the police department can expect. And that goal got closer last week with the delivery of its fourth working dog, a male Belgian Malinois who now answers to the name “Treu.”

Haas used drug forfeiture money to purchase the dog - police dogs do not come cheap. I guess you can call that a unique form of justice - karma, if you will. You operate a 24-hour drugstore on our streets, your money goes to purchasepolice dogs!

825-UGLY

It is an easy number to remember. USE IT! 825-UGLY is a hotline that allows any Millville resident to call in a code violation anonymously. It is a recording, you don't even have to leave your name.

We discussed the 825-UGLY number last night at the Citizen-Police Advisory Council (CiPAC) meeting. besides getting word out to residents to call 825-UGLY when you see he illegal dumping of TV Sets on the curb, or slumlords allowing trash to sit on the curb four and five days before scheduled trash pick-up, we are urging the use of the number to report the locations of sneakers hanging from telephone wires.

The issue was addressed as a question from Sgt. Cramner to Mayor Shannon - what action can be taken to remove the shoes hanging from telephone wires?

As most of our readers already understand, shoes hanging from power lines are signs that there is a drug dealer in that vicinity. On Sassafras Street, the drug dealers hang out at 412 Sassafras, and often at 409 Sassafras. Also, the brand of sneaker will often be a clue to the gang that has claimed their turf.

Mayor Shannon said the city maintenance yard does have a bucket truck. He will be coordinating with the police department to remove the shoes from cable or telephone lines. The city cannot risk playing near the electrical lines due to safety issues - so possibly we need to coordinate an effort to force Atlantic City Electric into taking care of any shoes on power lines.

The police will note the shoes during the course of their daily routines, but we also are encouraging citizens to call the locations in. It takes 15-seconds, and it sends a message to the drug dealers that we are claiming our streets back.

Gunfire hits man, more shots fired this week

A 21-year old city man was hit in the leg this week as more gunfire erupted in center City, Millville.

A 21-year-old city man was shot in the leg Friday, and his East Vine Street residence was hit by several bullets four days later, police said.Bullets struck another home in that neighborhood on Sunday, police said.

I spoke at length with Chief Haas last night, and the MPD is taking corrective action. Changes are being made, and the department is using creative techniques to combat the current resurgence of gang activity. The chief agrees that this is all gang related. You can rest assured that none of the targeted houses or so-called victims are innocent bystanders. That doesn't make the situation any less dangerous.

Thanks to vocal anti-government groups such as Millville First, the police department is working with a less than optimal staffing level. However, creative solutions are putting more cops on the street when and where needed. The Chief also assures me that the Sheriff's Department is assisting with the deployment of Sheriff deputies working in town.

He also wants to get the word out to ask people to call in tips. 825-7010, and hit "0" to talk to dispatch - leave tips and call in immediately when you witness anything that warrants closer scrutiny from the police department. of course, if it is an actual emergency or life-threatening situation, call 911.

Interesting possibility

As seen at www.homenewstribune.com New Brunswick NJ is forming an all volunteer auxilliary police force. Having grown up in New Brunswick, I am familiar with the area and think this will be a valuable asset not only to that community, but perhaps something Millville should pursue also.

I also lived in Toms River for several years. Toms River had an active auxiliary force while I was a resident. They assisted in things from maintaining a presence at large public events, to traffic control at accident and fire scenes, to providing additional patrols in township vehicles on weekends or busy holidays such as Halloween/Mischief night. They would also do ride alongs with full time officers frequently to learn and share information about happenings in the community.

I believe Millville could benefit from such a volunteer force. Younger adults who may aspire to get full-time positions in law enforcement can begin to build a resume and learn basic functions of community service. The local community college criminal justice program may be a great place to recruit volunteers. Retirees can find joy in volunteering in their community, and almost anybody who cares about their community may have an avenue to get involved if they choose.

By utilizing a group of auxiliary volunteers, the town would have extra eyes and ears at a minimal cost on the streets to interact with the community and bring concerns back to city officials. These same volunteers would also be trained and able to handle tasks such as traffic control and/or community policing to free up full time officers to concentrate more on serious crimes and issues affecting the city.

Report of a shot fired

In the News this afternoon:

A police officer on patrol Wednesday in Center City reported hearing a gunshot at about 11:20 p.m. in the area of North 4th Street. Investigation did not turn up any information.

Millville Police promise to protect your identity

The News of Cumberland County published a helpful article today. Millvilel police will not leak your identity if you call in a violent crime. I have said this many times, and it is good to see it in print.

...it is pertinent that the witness be kept anonymous.
“It depends on the crime, but in the situation of random shootings, they can remain anonymous completely,” Haas said.
Just in the past two weeks, Millville has experienced four reported shooting incidents, as well as a stabbing on Thursday.
“In the situation of the shootings, the identity of the witness is not needed in court,” Haas said. “If someone is being shot at, or sees someone shooting a gun, they need to tell us.
“There again, if they want to handle it themselves and not speak up, that doesn’t help us.”