Are the neighbors really watching?I was reading the Revere Journal (as I always do as a resident of the city) this morning and came across a story about the Beachmont area and their efforts to develop a Neighborhood Watch group.
The group was founded by Eileen Mundis and her neighbor, Jamie Ferrell after a scary incident.
About a year ago, while Mundis' husband and their three-year-old were playing catch, the toddler found a loaded handgun as the youngester was trying to retrieve the ball.
Mundis told the Journal:
“Someone stashed a loaded handgun right outside my house. My three-year-old found it – moved the bushes to get his ball and there it was. It’s things like that. If one of our boys had picked it up and decided to play with it, it could have been a disaster. Thank goodness my husband was there. That’s when I really started thinking about this.”
Mundis and her neighbor sprang into action and have rallied the troops locally, with the support of the police chief who assigned an officer to be a liason between the group and the city.
In essence, while the loaded gun incident was the catalyst to the formation of this group, there have been a slew of other incidents, such as brazen drug deals, vandalism, break-ins, robberies, etc.
I don't blame Mundis and her neighbors for not wanting to put up with this garbage anymore. I feel exactly the same way, as my end of Revere -- West -- isn't all roses and lillies either.
As I read the police log and arrest report, match it up with Google maps, I find that crime is rampant throught the city. In fact, my neighbors and I tried to get to get together with our local council rep a couple of years ago and the effort floundered. Additionally, we met with the police chief and the mayor and were sort of ho hummed out of the room.
Their advice: keep and eye on the neighborhood; report anything suspicious; and, becareful.
What? Becareful? Isn't this what we PAY YOU FOR? Why the hell do we need Neighborhood Watch groups in the first place? Yes, I know that the police are "under staffed" and they don't have enough patrol cars to monitor the entire city. But what the heck are we, normal citizens, going to do other than get a permit for our own gun, lock our doors and wait for the bad guys to come to us? If you want that to happen, ok, but to be honest, I'd rather not have to keep guns in the house with kids. Thanks.
That's what it feels like in the City of Revere at times. I just wish the city would get off their ass and clean things up. I'm tired of the talk. Let's have action. At least that's what Mundis and her community are doing. Let's just hope they have protection.