Crime-fighting group sets next meeting

By Barrett Goldsmith
Baytown Sun Published August 16, 2007

A citizens group aiming to curb crime in Baytown will hold a second meeting Sept. 10, this one featuring a more prominent role for the city and the Baytown Police Department.

The group first met Aug. 7 at the El Toro restaurant on Garth Road, where organizers solicited written comments from citizens fed up with rising crime in the area. The written comments, which number more than 30, will form the basis of a recommendation to Baytown City Council. But Bert Marshall, one of the group’s founders, said going before Council is still “down the road.”

“We’re not trying to do a blitzkrieg on the city,” Marshall said. “We’re trying to make Baytown safer and keep it that way. We’re trying to cut through all the red tape and see what the citizens themselves can do working with city hall and the police department to have a united effort.”

The meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. in a meeting room of the Baytown Community Center, will feature a presentation from the BPD Crime Prevention Unit, showing citizens how they can protect themselves, their families and their property from crime. Following the presentation, Police Chief Byron Jones will take written questions from the public, which must be e-mailed to Marshall at baytownbert(at)gmail.com.

Capt. Roger Clifford, head of investigations, said BPD is excited about the group’s popularity and its commitment to reducing crime in Baytown.

“We’re looking forward to working with these folks,” Clifford said. “We see the need. We’re just as alarmed as they are about the spikes in violent crimes. The only way we can address this issue is to work with our citizens. We’re all for it.”

From the start, the group now calling itself Baytown Concerned Citizens has leaned heavily on the Internet for its operations. The first meeting was scrapped together in about three days almost exclusively on Baytown Talk, the Baytown Sun’s community message board, and drew about 70 citizens.

Now the group operates through www.hotpursuit.com, a Web site created by citizen Mike Kercher. The site features a searchable database of all reported crimes back to July, and an interactive map showing where in town those crimes have taken place. The site also features a community message board of its own, which as of Wednesday boasted 140 members.

At the Sept. 10 meeting, Baytown Mayor Stephen DonCarlos will also take questions from citizens. DonCarlos said Baytown Concerned Citizens was going about its task the right way.

“I would encourage them not to spend time assigning blame but look at other areas that have successful crime prevention programs and come up with creative ways in which the public can be involved, along with the police department,” DonCarlos said. “It’s not a problem that has occurred overnight nor will it be solved overnight. We need to make our city unattractive to crime.”