http://mpso.org/MPSO/Welcome_files/shapeimage_2.jpg

I chose this photo because the Milwaukee Police Department District 3 plays an important role in Block Watch in the Johnsons Park neighborhood. I think the citizens in the neighborhood are comfortable calling the police when there is a problem and I think that they have a close relationship and good communication.

http://www.southrockport.org/neighborhdwatchlogo.jpg

I chose this photo because I saw it in a lot of windows when touring the Johnsons Park neighborhood. I think this image shows criminals in the area that there are people watching so maybe they will think twice before committing a crime in the area.

What does a block watch do?

I went online and searched Block Watch. I thought this was a good website that thoroughly explained how a Block Watch works in a community. I picked Block Watch for my topic because I am a Criminal Justice major and was eager to see how the Block Watch reduced crime in the Johnsons Park neighborhood. Here is some information I found on the website :

http://www.blockwatch.com/involved.aspx


HOW DOES BLOCK WATCH WORK?
Block Watch is a program of a neighbor helping neighbors. The Block Watch Program is a free community-based crime prevention program administered by your local police. Residents on a street or in a complex form a communication chain, aided by a block map of names, telephone numbers, and addresses. They make a commitment to watch out for each other's homes, and report suspicious activities to the police and to each other. They also keep each other informed about neighbourhood occurrences, burglary, thefts, and other crimes or problems occurring on their street.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BLOCK WATCH PARTICIPANT
-Watch out for their neighbor and their neighbor's property.
-Notify police of any suspicious activity or crime in progress.
-Report if they have been a victim of crime.
-Notify their Block Captain if they have been a victim of a break and enter or other criminal/suspicious activity.
-Update security and hardware in their homes.
-Mark all valuables with their driver's license.
-After participants have marked & catalogued their property they will be given Block Watch --decals by the Captain.
-Attend yearly Block Watch meetings in their neighborhood.

Coo Coo Cal - My Projects

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrDg5K2Ly4M&feature=PlayList&p=885922198A88AFD8&index=0&playnext=1

I chose this song for my blog because it really speaks to the struggle of living in the projects and how the projects are segregated from the rest of the city and how people have to fend for themselves. Johnsons Park used to be like this but they were able to rise above this struggle for survival (Plus, Coo Coo Cal is from Milwaukee so he must be speaking from experience.)

Photo Essay - ~*Artist's Statement*~

I did not know much about the Johnsons Park neighborhood before this class. I was interested to learn more about the changes that have been occurring in the neighborhood over the past few years. I decided to meet with Tony Gibson to learn more about what this neighborhood was about. Tony was kind enough to give us a tour and explain, in detail, about the neighborhood. He explained how many of the houses were run down so they tore them down and rebuilt brand new houses in their place. They shut down a drug house across from Tony’s house and shut down the corner store because it was attracting so much crime. The members of community are active in a block watch program and neighbors look out for one another. I tried to capture the rebuild of the neighborhood through my photographs. I used some of the older photographs Tony gave us to show the tearing down of old houses. I went into the neighborhood and took pictures of the newer homes and their properties. I tried to show the transformation from old to new. The difference between some of the homes in unbelievable; some of them are still boarded up and falling apart, while their next door neighbor has a beautiful, two-storied home with a manicured yard. It was very easy to capture the change with a camera. I could see the transformation and the effort put into making this neighborhood a better place. The residents have a new respect for where they live because it is a really nice place to live now. The crime rate seemed to go down due to the neighborhood watch and the community’s effort to keep their neighborhood safe. I am happy that there is an effort to make the communities in Milwaukee a better place. I think that if more communities were like Johnsons Park Milwaukee would have a lot less crime and people would be a lot more friendlily towards each other. I learned through this project that the world can be a better place if you work together and put in the effort.

***Photo Essay***