SCNA Watch
SCNA Watch
SCNA sponsors a neighborhood watch group. The group works with police to help ensure enforcement in the Salem Common neighborhood. Members of the association are encouraged to contact the police with any information concerning crime, property damage or suspicion activities. The Salem Police non-emergency line is (978)-744-1212. Information can also be sent to salempd@star.net
identify yourself as a member of the SCNA neighborhood watch, and provide the information that you have.
Spring/Summer 2003
Warmer weather is here (well it will be soon), and this means the Common will once again become a favorite place for night-time gatherings. SCNA Watch is working with Salem Police to enforce the 9:00pm closing time for the Salem Common. As a city park, the Common is closed for public gathering after 9:00pm. The Salem Police have been enforcing this ordinance in order to eliminate the nighttime gathering, disruptive behavior and property damage that had been occurring. If you notice groups of people gathered in the Common after the closing time please inform the Police Department (The Salem Police non-emergency line is (978)-744-1212). The enforcement of this regulation has made the Common a safer place at night, and your assistance in its enforcement is appreciated and critical for success..
Halloween Watch 2002
updated 10/8/2002
Halloween in Salem is a unique event that results in unique challenges for the residents of the Salem Common Neighborhood. A large number of visitors come to Salem in October for leaf-peeping, and Halloween related events. Salem's Haunted Happenings provides a structure for these events, and along with a large number of city departments, coordinates the infrastructure required to handle the number of visitors the we get in October.
And then there is Halloween night itself. Thousands of people will visit Salem on this one evening, and this has posed a significant challenge to our residential neighborhood in recent years. As the festival grows in popularity, so have the number of incidents of violence and property damage. The SCNA watch has played a very active role in recent years in cooperation with the Salem police department to coordinate patrols of our neighborhood on Halloween night. These patrols serve two main functions.
1) Making trick-or-treat in the neighborhood safe and enjoyable for parents and children
2) Monitoring activities in our neighborhood later in the evening on Halloween night
To achieve these goals SCNA Watch is coordinating the following activities with the Salem police department.
Street Crossing Assistance: The Common neighborhood has several difficult intersections, and with the additional traffic anticipated for Halloween night, SCNA Watch will be assisting in crossing at three intersections around the Common (at the Southeast corner of the Common at Washington Square South, East and Boardman streets, at the Northeast corner of the Common by the Inn at Washington square, and on the North side of the Common at the intersection of Washington Square North and Winter streets. We will staff these intersections with two people each, wearing orange vests and using flashlights to make intersections safer for trick-or-treaters. These intersections will be staffed from 5:30pm to 8:00pm. The intersections on the west side of the Common will have Salem police facilitating crossing.
Halloween Watch Houses: After 8:00, and until approximately 12:00, the SCNA Watch will coordinate with volunteers who offer to monitor activities from their homes. We are hoping to have volunteers from most of the streets in the neighborhood monitor activities on their street and phone in any behavior needing police attention. There will be a single central number to call that will be relayed directly to the officers patrolling the Common and the Common neighborhood. In this way, we can be the "eyes and ears" of the police department, allowing them to have greater coverage of the neighborhood than would be possible on their own. We hope to be able to get a fair amount of volunteers for this part of the watch, since a walking patrol of the neighborhood won;t be required, which can be difficult given the weather that we sometimes have on Halloween.
Volunteers are needed to help staff these parts of the Halloween Watch. If you would be willing to help with either of these two events please contact SCNA by e-mail at mail@scna.green-arrow.net. Please include your name, address, which part of the Watch you'd like to participate in, and during which hours if you are volunteering to be a Watch House.
Autumn 2001
Autumn means two things in Salem: the return of students to schools and colleges, and Halloween. The Freshman class at Salem State and surrounding colleges arrives each fall, and this brings new visitors to the neighborhood. The Common, as a meeting place, is often the site of late-night parties by a small number of these new visitors to the City. The diligence required in the Summer months to curtail this behavior (enforcing the closing time for the Common), is again required as these new activities begin each fall. As a city park, the common is closed for public gathering after 9:00pm. The Salem Police have been enforcing this ordinance in order to eliminate the nighttime gathering and disruptive behavior that had been occurring. If you notice groups of people gathered in the Common after the closing time please inform the police department. The enforcement of this regulation has made the Common a safer place at night.
Vehicle Noise Petition:
In preparation for this April's meeting with the City Council, the SCNA called many of its members to determine what issues to raise with the Council. An issue that was raised again and again, was the noise caused by unusually loud vehicles (motorcycles and loud automobiles) in our neighborhood. This issue was echoed be residents of other neighborhoods in Salem. SCNA watch is circulating a petition to request the Police department to enforce the existing regulations concerning vehicle noise. If you would like to add your name to the petition, you can do so by clicking here.