Tradition vs. Technology

The I-Team looks at the Wilkes Barre City Police Departments media relations policy of lack thereof.

The King defended the police officers saying “they are quite busy”

WHY with crime so low, and with more of them making fewer arrests, causing the overall number of arrests to go down?

The I-Team wondered why Wilkes Barre isint utilizing technology to distribute the crime statistics.

Charlotte Raup of the Wilkes Barre City Crime Watch spoke with the I-Team, and she said she was told by the administration that you will scare the people if you informed them as to what’s really going on, and that was in the Kings first year when crime really was lower. Today I can only imagine the people are scared shipless, I know I am.

In the beginning of Lie-A-Ton’s first term he called a meeting of the Crime Watch, and their leaders in an effort to disband the Crime Watch as “it was no longer needed” he said. After Charlotte, and the Crime Watch told him about himself, The King then said “well, we’re not going to read the crime statistics at the meetings anymore.” To which Charlotte said “I will go pull them off the clip board myself then”, and that’s what happened. Greg Barrouk told Charlotte at that meeting that the reports on the clipboard were bogus.

Nevertheless at the next scheduled Crime Watch meeting The Coordinator  read the statistics and the crime prevention office at the time (A Captain, no longer on the force) interrupted The Coordinator , and called The King, she then said “by order of the Mayor you are not permitted to read those statistics.” The Coordinator continued, and officers stopped attending meetings, until just last year.

The Crime Watch was punished for informing the people.

Just look at how the The Larksville Borough Police Department reports via Facebook.

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

Source: I-Team Video

Thank God "Crime is Down"

It’s been nearly TWO weeks since we’ve learned that "crime is down". Like many of you I was under the impression that crime was spiraling out of control, but according to our Out of Touch King Lie-A-Ton, we now know better

Just in case you forgot, here are some quotes from our King:

• "In fact, crime is down in the city,"
• "The reason why it appears there's more crime is because we have more officers on the street arresting more people."
• When asked how he knew crime was down after the meeting, Leighton said the number of arrests have dropped.

Time line below is just a sampling of crime in our city, since the King uttered that ridiculous nonsense, and please forgive me if I missed anything, as it’s been a busy crime week, with numbers this low

June 13, the same night the King told us crime was down several cars had their windows shot out
June 13, Matson Ave, Parsons - Bench stolen off front porch
June 13, marijuana buyers robbed at gunpoint.
June 14, Break-in of garage and residence on Tannery St.
June 14, Vehicle damaged soft top of his jeep was slashed
June 14, A man grabbed an expensive bottle of liquor and ran out of the Wines and Spirits in Penn Plaza!
June 15, TWO Turkey Hill’s robbed Carey Ave & South Main Street
June 15, Shots fired Sherman Hills
June 15, South Franklin...fight... guy going to get a gun.
June 15, Mulligan Irish Pub People physically fighting
June 15, 178 Crescent Ave- robbery - 4 black males robbed a man of phone and flip-flops.
June 16, Park Ave forced entry robbery.
June 16 N. empire and Grove st fight and gun was pulled out.
June 16, Shots fired around 80 South Welles.
June 17, Shooting outside a Parsons bar
June 17 Lawrence street- items stolen, 415 Blackman street- stolen ladder
June 18, Man was robbed and beaten in cellphone theft
June 19, Wilkes-Barre police Chief Gerard Dessoye issues warning about "Apple picking"
June 19, juvenile robbed and stabbed on Academy St
June 19 Two people were reportedly robbed
June 19 Spare tire stolen from jeep
June 19, Car broken into
June 19, Shots fired around Coal Street Area
June 20, Gunshot at Sherman hills
June 20, Man Stabbed walked into bar for help
June 20, Car stolen from the General Hospital's Employees Parking lot on Chestnut and Penn Ave
June 20, Auburn street - car vandalized
June 20, Sullivan and South Franklin --- shots fired
June 21, Camera was stolen from car parked in South Main Street parking garage
June 21, Man is being chased by a guy with a gun in a red truck On Solomon Street.
June 21 Turkey Hill - South Main and Blackman St - report of a bullet hole in window.
June 22, Uni-mart.. Parish and Hazel - armed robbery
June 22, Robbery from a Charles Street home
June 22, Two guys stealing tires on south regent street
June 22, Fight Coal St
June 22, Furniture stolen for the porch
June 23, Fight Miners Mills
June 24, Vandalism to vehicle
June 25, Man shot to death in the head
June 25 Drug bust Parsons (State troopers)
June 26, Turkey Hill robbed on Blackman St
June 26, Theft from a garage on Farley Lane

All I can say is, it's a good thing crime is down, because I truly don’t think our cops could handle much more.

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

Source:

• Wilkes- Barre Crime Watch
• Man shot to death in Wilkes-Barre; 2 detained
• W-B mayor says city crime is down
• Man allegedly robs 4 ‘buyers’ of marijuana
• Two robberies at Wilkes-Barre stores
• Wilkes-Barre police investigating robberies
• Man stabbed, had wallet, cellphone stolen in Wilkes-Barre
• Two W-B robberies latest in violent spree
• Police blotter 6/23/13
• Police Blotter 6/17/13
• Police Blotter 6/13/13

LAG too poor to pay tax???

The Citizens Voice is reporting that the suspended city towing contractor, LAG towing owner Leo Glodzik, owes $519,168 in personal income taxes to the state dating back to 2006, the lien filed in Luzerne County Court says.

So not only is Leo accused of price gouging, overbilling, and shystering poor people out of their cars, but he wasn't even paying his mortgage or his taxes?

With all the money that passed through LAG from price gouging, overbilling, and so called abandoned cars, one has to wonder why Leo had such financial troubles, which all seemed to begin back in March, when U.S. Bank National Association of West Palm Beach, Fla., moved to foreclose on his Wilkes-Barre home, claiming he hasn't made a mortgage payment in more than 16 months.

Now The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue has filed a lien. We can only wonder will the IRS be joining the fun, and where did all that LAG cash go?

Well we know $50,050 each year went to the city, and over $17,800 went to the King’s corruption campaign but even with all that we can only guess those loaner cars and champagne for his friends the cops must have been quite costly.

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

Source:

• Documents: Glodzik owes more than $500,000 in state taxes

Park & Lock Break-Ins with crime so low????

According to Frank Sorick, president of the Wilkes-Barre City Taxpayers Association there were several break-ins at the Park & Lock Central Garage on Father’s Day, which went un-reported by the city. So I’m guessing these numbers won’t be reflected in the city’s overall long-term crime decline. That Drew Mc-Laugh-Lin blustered about the other day.

Sorick said he learned of the break-ins when he accessed the city’s Crime Watch website.

• Well you didn’t expect to hear about it from the city did you?

Sorick said one of the break-ins occurred directly under one of the Hawkeye cameras.

• That’s like saying LAG damaged your car in front of city police.

If you truly want to know why the Hawkeye system doesn't work, please take a look at the Independent Gazette's article, Hawkeye or Blindeye?

“The public needs to know if these criminals are caught,” Sorick said.

• The last time someone was caught breaking into cars at the movies was when Crime Watch & The Guardian Angles set up a sting. 

Liza Prokop, the city’s spokeswoman, said two press releases on the break-ins were missing from the lobby postings at the police station.

• Missing? Perhaps they were filed in the same filing cabinet as the LAG records?

Prokop said “The video tapes are being reviewed, but there is no conclusive evidence to identify the responsible parties,” she said. “More information will be released as the investigation continues.”

• No conclusive evidence to identify the responsible parties, and this happened right near the worthless $10,000 camera. 

Matthew Price, project manager for LAZ Parking, said he asked in the past to review surveillance tapes, but has never been allowed.

• So the Parking Authority is the ONLY source of income for Hawkeye, and their management firm isn’t allowed to see films??? 

Board member Maryanne King asked, “Then what are we paying for?”

• Corruption Mrs. King, and the right NOT to ask questions. 

Board member Jim Casey said he “feels better” knowing the cameras are there.

• Really Jim you feel better knowing the cameras in your garages don’t work? How would you feel about allowing police officers to respond to a shots fired call at Sherman Hills with unloaded firearms? 

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

Source:

• City Parking Authority grilled on cameras’ effectiveness
• Hawkeye or Blindeye?
• Camera’s do you want them?

Of course crime is way up, Duh

Let me just say Thank God for reporters like James Halpin of The Citizens Voice for actually investigating, and not simply printing the King’s dribble.

James wrote: Residents concerned about crime listened with disbelief at Thursday's city council meeting as they tried to reconcile his assertion with what they see in their neighborhoods every day.

Referring to ludicrous statements made by King Lie-A-Ton, "In fact, crime is down in the city," or "The reason why it appears there's more crime is because we have more officers on the street arresting more people."

Fact is we haven’t hired an officer in years, and we don’t even have a civil service list to replace retirees, so anyone with half a brain would surmise we have FEWER officers on the street.

"The problem is: he has been in denial about gangs, about crime. You see the other chiefs of police from all over - they're working with the people, they're admitting they have a problem," Charlotte Raup, president of the Wilkes-Barre Crime Watch Coalition, said. "We're talking shootings and stabbings every day."

• Oh that Charlotte always worrying about shootings and stabbings, didn’t anyone tell her that only happens to the undesirables.

Dr. Bill Lutes, chairman of the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology at King's College, said uniform crime report numbers can be skewed by a number of factors, including unreported crimes, police misreading incidents or charges being filed that do not match the crime that occurred. "Crime has a tendency to be under-reported," Lutes said. "You've just got to take it with a grain of salt."

• Unreported crimes causing under-reported numbers taken with a grain of salt, you say? Who'da thunk!!

Even Thief of Police DuhSoye said I don't like to hang my hat too much on statistics I'm cautiously optimistic that the crime rate has had a reasonable trend downward, but I'm also a realist - I know sooner or later we've got to bottom out."

Bottom out? Sooner or later they will kill one another off, hopefully without taking too many good citizens with them.

Municipal Affairs Manager Drew McLaughlin said V.S. The Wake Up Wilkes Barre Translatior.

McLaughlin said: the mayor was in fact referencing year-over-year crime statistics that show a long-term decline in crime.

• Translation: We’ve been under reporting for years, and that’s what the King was referring to, so get a life people. 

McLaughlin said:  "We don't look at snapshots of three months, six months. We look at downward trends over a longer period of time, and those have proven in the city to be down."

• Translation: We scoured through the crime stats to find something, anything that would support what his lordship slurred at council. 

McLaughlin said:  the city has a "broad-spectrum approach" to crime, with proactive investigations to prevent further incidents and reactive, boots on the ground patrolling.

• Translation: We have ABOUT 4 to 5 patrol-cops on at any given time protection all 41,000 of you. That’s 10 total boots on the ground. 

McLaughlin said:  The city has not laid off police officers, has invested heavily in the Hawkeye surveillance system and has taken a targeted approach to fighting crime in troubled areas.

• Translation: We didn’t cut any cops, but didn’t replace any retirees either, and we wasted as much money as we could on a worthless $10,000 per camera system, that couldn’t see the ground under a blimp, but on the bright side there are ZERO Hawkeye surveillance cameras near Sherman Hills a very troubled area, and that’s our targeted approach to fighting crime….

McLaughlin said: "We think we've had some success, We think the numbers bear that out, but we're always hoping to do better."

• Translation: Even our limited police force caught some bad guys, and Hawkeye is still good for checking out girls tookuses in the McDonalds parking lot. Sheesh people calm down, we’re trying here. 

MIA: Where is the new spinmaster the king hired? Doesn’t Liza Prokop know Drew has a ton of work to do in his new role as Municipal Affairs Manager? Managing the “Affairs” that happen in and around city hall is a daunting task, and CBS Daytime could learn a thing or two about drama from City Hall.

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

Source:

• Calculating crime: W-B stats tell different stories

Crime Down, But up 10%?

We've all suspected from quite some time now that the city was cooking the books, and fudging the numbers, but Jerry Lynott of The Times Leader proved it.

According to Jerry’s article it would seem the city police are a bit behind in submitting their fudged numbers to the state police Uniform Crime Reporting System.

Jerry also writes “However, using the most current UCRS numbers as of the end of May, reported crimes increased by 10 percent compared with May 31, 2012.”

CRIME UP 10 PERCENT??? What happened to more officers, arresting more people, causing crime to decrease?

Now I’m really confused, after reading yesterday’s Times Leader it looked as if there was actually some sort of factual basis supporting The King’s dribble regarding the lowered crime rates in Da Hood, but now it looks as if the city is either fudging the numbers, or not submitting the fudge reports at all.

Don’t blame Jerry though he did attempt to clear this whole thing up, but, “The mayor could not be reached for comment Saturday.”

• Hum perhaps he was off the wagon? 
• Or is it reservation? 

Either way he was likely oblivious to the fact, that with only 4 beat cops on at any given time, we couldn't possibly expect the city police department to have a split second available to report anything, when they are running from call to call like their hair is on fire, and the average wait time for a cop is 4 hours.

Don’t take my word for it, listen to your scanners or join the Crime Watch Facebook Group, and see for yourself. The other night a lady called 911 to get an officer so she could report a crime, and 4-5 hours later (4 AM) the cop reported to com-center “no answer at door, clear it county, she’ll call back in the morning” the officer said. NEWS FLASH: No she won’t, she likely thinks the WBPD never showed up, and doesn't give a crap about her or her issues. She hasn't a clue about how overworked our cops are, and that most of them (suckholes not included) would rather be cleaning toilets for Kingston than risking their hide responding to shootings EVERYDAY!

God Bless the WBPD

And BTW (by the way) where is that new lip service provider, the King hired? Isn't she supposed to take those calls for comment from reporters?

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

Source:

• Crime database lag obscures W-B trends

Figures don’t lie, but liars Figure

According to Jerry Lynott of The Times Leader the “Data” supports the King’s claims of “A lowered crime rate” in Da Hood, but from reading the comment section of Jerry’s online article, it doesn't seem like the readers are buying it, and neither am I.

Who's responsible for tracking that crime data you might be asking.

• Well according to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System Website: the date is collected from each jurisdiction. 

So in other words, Wilkes Barre City is responsible for reporting their own numbers, or lies as it is in this case.

Just last week the Citizens Voice reported in two separate news articles that Wilkes Barre Police weren't reporting on a number of crimes. In particular three recent shootings to which the newspaper said “seems extreme”.

So if the city is responsible for reporting their own numbers, and they are not reporting said numbers, it would make perfect sense that crime numbers are down.

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

P.S. Thanks for the headline Mac

Source:

• Data supports mayor; crime down in W-B
• Police chief keeps citizens in the dark
• When it comes to crime, all's quiet in W-B
• Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System
• Reduce Crime, Just don't report it.

King said crime is down citywide

His lordship, King Lie-A-Ton stunned the crowd at last night’s city council meeting when he told them that crime is down citywide.

I know this came as quite a shock to the folks in attendance as The King’s comment drew a response of “Oh please,” from attendees, but nonetheless The King said "The reason why it appears there's more crime is because we have more officers on the street arresting more people."

• So we can only assume that the 4 cops on at any given time protecting over 40,000 people is “more officers on the street arresting more people”. 

When asked how he knew crime was down after the meeting, Leighton said the number of arrests have dropped.

• So crime is down because we have more officers on the street arresting more people, but he number of arrests have dropped. What did I miss?

Leighton said he couldn't recall the source of those statistics.

• Could it be just the statistics in your head your lordship?

According to City-Data.com a statical tracking website Wilkes Barre City is rated as having a HIGH crime rate, and the citywide murder rate has more than tripled since Lie-A-Ton took office. Rising from the average 1-2 per year to sometime 6-10 during his lordships reign.

Councilman George Brown, who represents South Wilkes-Barre, said residents have inundated him with phone calls about what they're seeing. Dealers selling drugs openly on the street. Robberies. Prostitution.

• I’m guessing they didn’t hear that crime is down!

The Rev. Shawn Walker  a Wilkes-Barre Area School Board member and founder of the anti-youth violence initiative Building Bridges, told city council on Thursday how crime has worsened near his home on Oak Street and Firwood Avenue. Walker said “I can't let my kids walk four blocks to the park.”

• Come on Rev. Walker, didn't ya hear? Crime is down!

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

Source:

• Leighton says city crime is down
• W-B council urged to counter crime
• Wilkes-Barre Crime Watch
• City-Data.com, Crime rate in Wilkes-Barre

Another Crappy Deal

I am totally beside myself on this one. Apparently NRS (Northeast Recycling Solutions) is offering to pay fair market value for recycling materials to EVERYONE EXCEPT Wilkes Barre, and the King has the nerve to say “We didn’t get that deal,”!!!!

Well Wake The Flock Up your lordship!

According to the NRS flyers advertised rates Wilkes Barre should be getting close to $10,000.00 PER MONTH for the roughly 200 tons of single-stream recycling materials are generated by the City of Wilkes-Barre each month.

Instead we (the city) are receiving a flat rate of ONLY $500, Are you kidding me Five Hundred Bucks??? WHO is pocketing the remaining Nine Thousand Five Hundred Dollars??

Wake Up Wilkes Barre, you're being screwed, and me thinks you are enjoying it.

Source:

• Recycling deal not so good for Wilkes-Barre

Reduce Crime, Just don't report it.

The Citizens Voice is reporting, Three times within a recent week, men showed up with gunshot wounds at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

• THREE TIMES IN ONE WEEK????

And police are all quiet, when it comes to telling the people that the city is now Gotham?

Thank God for Crime Watch click here to stay informed

"There's no information out there, but we hear it happening and we know it's happening," said Charlotte Raup, president of the Wilkes-Barre Crime Watch

• Charlotte is right, listening to the scanner, can be more frightening than a scary movie. When you find out the sound you wrote off as fireworks, was actually your neighbor being shot to death, and even worse the cops not telling you what’s going on, or where it's happening. 

Wake Up People, your city is under attack, and the folks charged with your safety, are not warning you.

Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said “It's incumbent upon the police force to be responsive to the needs of their community,"

"If there's a shooting that's happened, the public has a right to know the basics - the who, the what, the when and the where. Police have to be accountable to the public that they serve because of the important role that they play in our community."

Police Chief Gerard Duhsoye maintains that the department's media policy is unchanged in more than a decade:

• No news is good news?

Duhsoye quotes:

"We feel it's a more efficient way to run the city,"

• Too keep people in the dark?

"I can give you what I can give you. I'm not in the business of really worrying of getting it out. I'm in the business of solving the crime."

• What about public safety? Information allows folks to take precautions. 

"Because when you think it's a basic shooting, it could be a homicide or unfounded,"

• BASIC SHOOTING??? What is that? Are you telling me it happens so often in Wilkes Barre that it’s just a "basic shooting"?

"What you get is handed to you. We don't get it handed to us. It may take a certain amount of time to investigate. Information may be sensitive."

From the Entice Facebook

• Why not? Doesn’t Hawkeye hand it to you? Are you telling me the shooting on Main St, where you (WBPD) found the glass, and shell casings in front of the after-hours pole-dancing club known as Entice Lounge, wasn't captured on Hawkeye? 

Duhsoye said if police determine the weekend shootings took place outside Wilkes-Barre, "I'll absolutely not confirm any information."

• Oh trust me they happened here!

King Lie-A-ton said when questioned at a public meeting

The lack of information came up at last week's city council meeting, where a reporter asked Mayor Tom Leighton about what had happened, saying information had been hard to come by.

"I believe because there's very little information to give,"

• OK now reporters have to wait until a council meeting to ask questions?

Other quotes from the King

"We have limited resources. We have schedules. We do the best we can with those resources,"

• Hum just imagine if you hadn’t misused all those resources, such as Gas-Gate, $10,000 Home Security Systems, and Multi-Million Dollar No-Bids for your buddies?

"There's nothing we can do differently. It's the best we can. I'm sorry, we're doing the best we can. We're following the policy. No one else is complaining."

• OH YES we are complaining, your lordship, but for whatever reason you seem to feel if we don't voice our complaint(s) at your watering-hole of choice, they don't exist. 

City spokesjoke Drew Mc-Laugh-lin, he said:

“The city is merely trying to ensure the information it releases to the public is accurate.”

• Oh yes Drew, because you would have more accurate information than the officer on scene?

“Officials will take extra time, if needed, to get the details right the first time”

• Or officials "will take the extra time time, if needed to" make up a comforting lie that sounds better. 

Wilkes-Barre City Council Chairman and former Police Chief Bill Barrett said:

During his term, watch commanders were expected to communicate with the media about incidents. Watch commanders are able to deliver the information most quickly and directly.

• WHAT Drew just said, he can communicate more accurately, than WBPD!

Barrett said he didn't agree with the frequent occurrence of watch commanders deferring comment to McLaughlin. "I think it's ludicrous,"

"It doesn't make a lot of sense. There are people very capable of releasing info and they know what to release and what not to release."

• Perhaps when you were Chief Bill, but with our current do nothing, Thief of Police in charge, who knows what, if any direction these cops are getting. 

Hazleton police Chief Frank DeAndrea said."We will never not tell you there was a shooting, but we might withhold names. We might withhold information,"

• Imagine a police chief that would want to warn his residents. 

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

Source:

• When it comes to crime, all's quiet in W-B
• Police chief keeps citizens in the dark
• (Laughable) Wilkes-Barre police activity

Dark day at LAG

Driving past LAG Towing this evening one can’t help notice the place is shut down. The sign in the window says CLOSED, and there isn’t a car nearby. Well except for the ones still in impound. By the way, what happens to all those cars now?

Poor Leo: Getting the boot from the King (his buddy, no less) this afternoon, and just seconds after being arraigned on theft charges too.

Has the King no compassion for his friend, whose sole source of income was that contract?

However will he pay his mortgage? LOL

I’m guessing he will be housed by the taxpayers soon enough, unless of course he tells the FBI who all knew of his scheme, then he might just get one of those, get out of Federal (Pound You in the Tookus) Prison cards.

Wake Up Leo before it really is too late for you!

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

Source:

• GLODZICK FACING THEFT CHARGES
• W-B towing contractor Glodzik charged with theft
• UPDATE Theft charges filed against city tower Leo A. Glodzik III
• WBRE Video WB Towing Contractor Charged with Theft