Sign of Strength or Sign of Fear?

This column was first published here on November 10, 2010.

Edited versions were subsequently published,with permission of the author,
in print and online editions of community newspapers across Chicago.

My neighbor put a sign in his front window the other day. It was red, white and blue. In big, boldface letters it said:

This neighborhood ain’t

what it used to be.

We have a crime problem.

AND WE ARE SCARED.

OK, so it didn’t really say that.

What it really said was:

Proud Member

Neighborhood Watch

WE CALL POLICE

But it might as well have been the WE ARE SCARED sign.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am not making fun of neighborhood watch programs or people who put WE CALL POLICE signs in their windows. Such people typically are by many measures some of the best people in any given neighborhood. They care about the community, wear their hearts on their sleeves and are willing to take action against crime and the threat of crime.

But really, does such a sign deter criminals? Has it ever? Even once? I doubt it.

Does such a sign promote unity among law-abiding citizens? I doubt it.

If anything, I think it is unintentionally counterproductive. It can cause unease among people who otherwise would not be uneasy. It can even get people who otherwise felt secure to start thinking about selling their homes and move to a “safer” area.

WE CALL POLICE signs remind me of the signs that, for a few years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, could be seen on every block in the West Englewood neighborhood.

We are here to STAY!

DOWN with FHA!

The signs reflected white homeowners’ anger with racial blockbusting and what they viewed as the destructive, community-killing role that the Federal Housing Authority (as well as the Chicago Housing Authority) was playing in their neighborhood.

Just like the WE CALL POLICE signs, the WE are here to STAY! signs were intended to fight divisiveness and promote cohesiveness. But did they? One by one, as white homeowners quietly sold to black homebuyers, the signs started disappearing. And the remaining white homeowners saw that and unfortunately panicked, bolting from the neighborhood and selling their homes at huge losses that are the hallmark of panic selling.

OK, so back to the present day: so why would anyone on Chicago’s Southwest Side (and a number of other neighborhoods) need to post a WE CALL POLICE sign?

In some city neighborhoods (mine included), calling the police often means calling over your backyard fence---or even calling into the next room. We have coppers everywhere, fortunately. I’ll bet that about one in four homes on my block has at least one person on the CPD or some other law enforcement agency.

So what do I suggest that the WE CALL POLICE sign posters do?

Here are a few suggestions to show gang bangers and other thugs that you and your neighbors don’t and won’t take their (starts with “cr” and rhymes with “wrap”).

** Take down the WE CALL POLICE sign.

** Get a copy of the book “Fixing Broken Windows: Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities” by George L. Kelling and Catharine Cole. You can get a used paperback copy for as little as $2 or $3 on Amazon.com; or you can get it through the Chicago Public Library’s website: chipublib.org. It's a great book. Read it.

** Show pride in your home and property. Keep the grass cut, the bushes trimmed, the windows clean, the flowers planted.

** Introduce yourself to your neighbors. Invite them over and order a pizza. Bake them a cake and surprise them with it.

** Every time you see something in a public space that needs to be addressed (graffiti, broken glass, open fire hydrant, dead street light, bent stop sign, trash or dead animal on the street), report it immediately to the appropriate authority. In Chicago, that usually means 311. When you report it, be polite but firm, and be persistent. Your tax dollars pay the salary of the person you’re speaking with, and they pay for people to fix things like this promptly and efficiently.

** And if you must post a sign in your window, I suggest something like this:

This neighborhood is great!

Visit ourgreatcommunity.org

By the way, the “ourgreatcommunity.org” domain name is available.

When people go to your community’s website, they will read a dozen or two reasons why your community is a great place to live, work, play, study, worship, dine, shop and visit. They will see a wealth of colorful photos of life in the community. They will see a current calendar of events that encourages people to get out of the house and meet the neighbors. And yes, there will be a “public safety” page devoted to facing crime honestly and effectively, but with confidence and without fear.

Sound like a plan?

See you next week….

Joan Hadac is a Chicago news/feature reporter, editor and columnist.

Read her online at www.citymomchicago.blogspot.com