Crime2Most Austinites feel safe in the city and in their individual neighborhoods, according to data from a January poll released by Austin Police Department that collected more than 2,500 responses. That same poll indicated many residents—56 percent of respondents—would like to see more emphasis on community policing. APD Officer Frank Creasey said neighborhood watch programs go hand in hand with community policing efforts. It is important for residents to get to know their neighbors, which is the basis of a neighborhood watch program, Creasey said. The Anderson Mill and Avery Ranch neighborhoods have very active neighborhood watch programs, he said. “Get to know the people around you,” he said. “You kind of watch out for each other.” In response to a recent uptick in crimes in the 78759 ZIP code, which Creasey said is uncharacteristic for that area, some residents in Northwest Austin’s Laurel Oaks Neighborhood Association are banding together to start a new neighborhood watch program. Meanwhile, one business responded to the recent string of sexual assaults along US 183, which Austin police say are connected, by offering free self-defense classes. “We had to do something,” said Greg Fisher, chief instructor at Impact Martial Arts on Research Boulevard. “People are getting attacked.”

Community police

According to data from APD, the population in 78759—where a drug raid took place and eight sexual assaults were reported between December and April—grew 7 percent from 2010-15. But in that five-year period, the number of crimes per year has steadily decreased from 4,665 in 2010 to 3,280 in 2015, according to APD data. The number of rapes in 78759 ranged from 1 to 11 per year from 2010-15. Creasey said it is unusual for a sexual predator to target that part of the city. “That area doesn’t have a higher-than-average amount of crime,” he said. Creasey is the district representative, or DR, for the western portion of APD’s Region 2, which includes parts of 78727, 78729, 78750, 78758 and 78759. CrimeDRs act as liaisons between neighborhoods and the police department; they are sworn officers assigned to specific districts within an area to assist the community in solving neighborhood problems and facilitating open communication, according to APD. Since the assaults began, Creasey said DRs have been canvassing apartment complexes, where many of the assaults are taking place, and encouraging residents and management to call APD if they see anyone suspicious. “I’d rather take four or five suspicious person calls than take two or three burglary reports,” Creasey said. “Be our eyes and ears.”

Residents react

In February, 15 individuals were arrested and federally charged with methamphetamine distribution and money laundering in the Great Hills neighborhood located in 78759, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Since then, a neighborhood watch program has been taking shape in Laurel Oaks, located south of Spicewood Springs Road and west of US 183. LONA member Ellie Brady said on March 9 more than 200 residents gathered at Canyon Vista Middle School on Spicewood Springs Road in response to the drug raid. She said District 10 Council Member Sheri Gallo and APD officers spoke to residents about how to become a less attractive community to criminals. One of the solutions, Brady said, was to form a neighborhood watch group. Brady said she has been involved with LONA for more than 20 years, during which time neighborhood watch programs have started and fizzled out. As a professional project manager, Brady said she wanted to take the reins as coordinator of the program. She said LONA’s boundaries include about 2,000 houses; her goal is to get 30 percent of Laurel Oaks involved in the program by the end of the year. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a traditional neighborhood watch group includes a law-enforcement officer, or in Austin’s case, a district representative, to act as liaison between the group and the APD and to train the group about the watch program. The area coordinator is the resident program leader, and block captains spread throughout the community are often responsible for reaching out to a smaller group of 10-15 neighbors. Creasey said it is essential that a neighborhood watch program have a dedicated coordinator and a committed group of block captains. LONA is holding a neighborhood watch training meeting on May 31 at 6 p.m. at Spicewood Springs Library.

NWA-2016-05-32-1Business empowers

In April, Fisher held four free self-defense classes at Impact Martial Arts, and he said 70 total people attended, 68 of whom were women. Fisher said the business has been open for about 15 years, and he wanted to do something to help the neighborhood. “We have the skills; we have the knowledge,” he said. Fisher also teaches krav maga, an Israeli form of self-defense. During a May 2 class, he showed students how to defend themselves against an attacker. Fisher gave students prop cell phones to simulate an assailant coming at them from behind. “People get attacked on their phones all the time,” he told the class. Fisher said practicing self-defense is important because the movements become instinctual over time. Without practice, he said, a person’s instinct is to hang on to an expensive cell phone, thereby putting them in a weaker position against an attacker. “Let that phone drop,” he told the class. “Phones are expensive, [but] they’re not worth dying over.” Jenna Wakeley is one of Fisher’s krav maga students who also attended one of the free self-defense classes in April. “It was great to see women becoming proud of themselves for being able to take care of themselves,” she said. Wakeley lives near Burnet Road and US 183, and she said she does not think she would have sought out self-defense classes if not for the recent sexual attacks. She said she started going to Impact Martial Arts for kickboxing classes because she wanted to get in better shape. She attended a krav maga class and said she was “hooked.” “It’s nice to feel powerful, especially when you’re little,” she said.