Twenty residents descended upon the district police meeting demanding more patrols and walking beats on February 19th in response to a near fatal shooting in the street in front of 4724 S Liberty.

In a huge neighborhood victory, the commander of the 2nd district has announced that next Friday, February 29th, the police officers will be walking the beat from Claiborne to St Charles and Nashville to Napoleon. Neighbors have vowed to keep the pressure on, bringing more and more residents to the NONPACC meetings, and make this neighborhood the safe living and working environment that we all deserve.

Residents are tired of the violence, and are prepared to continue fighting. Since October 2007, there have been two murders, two shootings and countless gunshots at the intersection of S. Liberty and Valence. There is a K-8 school at that same intersection where children ages 5-14 walk to and from school.

Neighbors have been meeting at the Freret Neighborhood Center on a monthly basis, discussing ways to address the violent crime and neglected properties throughout the area. The next meeting is March 15th at 11:00 am to prepare for NONPACC meeting, March 18th, and to continue with the city Neighborhood Watch training.

At the previous NONPACC meeting (held 3 months ago) in November ten area neighbors came to stand up for the right to safety and more police protection.

During the Neighbors United meeting on February 12th, Quality of Life officer Will Eddington made it clear that more people must get involved and stay involved to keep police focused on this crime problem. Neighbors committed to attending the district meeting after he referred to residents at the November NONPACC as ‘storm troopers’.

At this past NONPACC meeting, twenty residents asked what is being done to ensure the safety of school children and families in the area and demanded more action for S Liberty and Soniat Square/Evans Playground areas. Over 100 calls have been made by at least one household, the Mackins, who have volunteered to serve as the area Neighborhood Watch liaisons. The Mackins are sticking their necks out, but more and more residents are standing together to support them.

2nd district police officers will be out walking the beat next Friday, Feb 29th from 7 am to 7pm somewhere between Claiborne and St Charles, Nashville and Napoleon. If you see beat officers on your block, introduce yourself, share your concerns for the block, and most importantly speak up.

If you would like to join the Neighborhood Watch group, please email Neighbors.United.ListServe. If you do not have internet access, please call the Freret Neighborhood Center, 373-6403 and you will be put on the call list