This has been a quiet summer for Manor Park from the personal and home safety perspective. There were very few instances of residential break-ins over the past three months. Neighbours in Cardinal Glen suffered two instances of break-ins to garden sheds: in late June, one shed was opened but nothing was taken, while on July 17, a mountain bike was stolen from another shed. In early July, police were called when a young man was seen early one afternoon looking into the back windows of a home on Bedford Crescent. Nothing was taken - the residents were home at the time. Police report that a person was arrested on Camelia Avenue on August 1. The nature of the offence was not specified. More recently, on Arundel Ave., three mountain bikes were stolen from an unlocked garden shed. On Blasdell someone broke in through a lower window (most likely) and took a TV, a computer and a printer.

False Alarms
Reports over the summer refer to continuing calls to the police from all neighbourhoods because of alarms, of which 97% of all cases are false. Reassuringly, given the Neighbourhood Watch objective to increase vigilance and encourage neighbours to report suspicious activity to the Police, these calls seem to appear more often. A more detailed report on this will be in the next Chronicle.

While somewhat reassuring, let us continue to keep our eyes open and operate under the principles of Neighbourhood Watch, of concern for each other as members of a caring community.

New signs surround the School
Suddenly in mid-August new bilingual signs with large red letters on a white background appeared at all the corners and at all the entrance paths into the Manor Park Public School. These signs do not say on whose authority they have been erected, but the School and the neighbours are, obviously, beneficiaries of this action. Since this took place in August, there was no one to speak to at the school itself. Representatives of the School Board administration were not aware of this initiative either.

The signs say: "SCHOOL PROPERTY RESTRICTIONS. The property shall not be used between the hours of 22:30 and 06:00. Violators are subject to prosecution under the Trespass to Property Act. Code of Conduct: NO FOUL LANGUAGE, NO ALCOHOL, NO VEHICLES, NO LOITERING

Over the past several years, Ottawa Police constables had asked for such clear signs of enforcement-oriented regulations to enable them to use trespass laws against noisy, rambunctious young people bothering neighbours and vandalizing school property at several school properties in Ottawa's far-east end.

While this cannot yet be confirmed, the presence of these signs should permit both the school and its neighbours to call the Police when the 'quiet enjoyment' of their home and garden is disturbed by persons on School property between 10:30 at night and 6:00 in the morning. We will report more on this in the next issue, but if you have a problem, then, know whom to call:

For life-threatening incidents
CALL 9-1-1- for URGENT Police, Fire or Medical Response.

Suspicious incident, but not life-threatening?
CALL the Ottawa Police Dispatcher at 230-6211 for fast police response.

Want to report a recent non-urgent suspicious incident?
CALL 236-1222 extension 7300. Ottawa Police track all suspicious incidents so let them know, even after the fact.

Call for NW Block Captains
I still need Block Captains for Neighbourhood Watch in all areas of Manor Park and surrounding neighbourhoods. If you have a bit of time and some interest in helping your neighbours, call Robert Todd at 741-6812, or send me an e-mail at robert.w.todd@sympatico.ca

Neighbourhood Watch Archives:

• Notice to all Manor Park Block Captains. (May 2005)
• Neighbourhood Watch (March. 2005)
• Neighbourhood Watch (Jan. 2005)
• Neighbourhood Watch (Nov. 2004)
• Neighbourhood Watch (Sept. 2004)