NBV residents raise concerns about suspicious activity in their neighborhoods

Mayor Craig Ambrose said they don’t have enough police officers for aroundthe-clock shifts.

Many North Belle Vernon residents are concerned about suspicious activity in their neighborhood.

Several residents attended Tuesday’s monthly council meeting to express their concerns about speeding and suspected illegal activity near Hill Street.

Residents said they have tried to report incidents, but feel their concerns are not being addressed.

Mayor Craig Ambrose said often times there is not an officer in the police department to answer the phone as they are on patrols, but in any situation, a resident should call 911.

“You have to call 911,” Ambrose said. “You can’t call the number here, because yeah, there is no one there to answer those phones, they are out in their cars. They are not here to answer.”

A resident who did not give her name expressed her frustration.

“They (911 dispatchers) direct you to state police. The state police tell you that you have to take it up with your local police and they don’t want to be bothered. You can’t get hold of anyone here,” she said. “When it is not exactly an emergency, but state police don’t want to deal with it, how do we get hold of our local police here?

“I have called about the drugs before. I have three children and I find needles in the alley. There is drug paraphernalia and needles.”

Other residents chimed in, one man said he has seen needles on the side of the road behind Grant Street.

Another resident said he has had to pick up needles before he could cut his grass off of Hill Street.

“I have called the state police, and they don’t want to come out and deal with it,” she said.

Ambrose told residents that the borough doesn’t have the staff to keep officers on the clock 24/7.

Residents asked if schedules could be changed to accommodate when incidents are occurring.

“Anyone on Hill Street can tell you when the activity is happening, it’s not Monday through Friday,” one resident said. “It’s weekends and evenings and mostly in the beginning of the month.”

Another person said they recently dealt with noise around 4 a.m. and was reportedly told by police they don’t handle noise complaints.

A particular house is the problem, residents claim, and say something has to be done.

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“Anyone on Hill Street can tell you when the activity is happening, it’s not Monday through Friday. It’s weekends and evenings and mostly in the beginning of the month.”

A NORTH BELLE VERNON RESIDENT “There was a guy screaming on the porch at 6 a.m. and he came out around 7 (a.m.) and proceeded to pile a bunch of clothes up by the gas meter and lit it on fire. He wasn’t arrested or cited.”

Residents say they are tired of bringing it up as much as officials are tired of hearing about it.

“We are absolutely tired of it,” one woman said. “We have young kids, young families. It’s such a good neighborhood. You can walk for two blocks and see everyone outside with their kids playing until you see cars barreling down the street and you have to yell because there are kids outside riding their scooters and their bicycles.”

Though officials told residents they need to call 911 when incidents occur, resident’s don’t want to tie up resources of first responders if it is not an emergency.

“I am not going to call the police for a misuse of 911 because someone is speeding,” one resident said.

Residents claimed they see illegal drug activity.

“There are so many cameras on that street, there are photos of cars, transactions from cars and now they are doing a thing where they walk past like they are going around the block and say here you go, and we’ve watched it,” the woman said.

Ambrose said he is aware of the problem.

“I know, I’ve been there with you,” Ambrose said.

“We are sick of it,” a woman said. “We have so many kids. These kids will end up getting hurt. Who is going to get hit? Who is going to get hurt? Who is going to get stuck (by a needle)?” the woman asked. “When is it, when we say enough is enough as a community?”

Ambrose said he understands. “I get it, I understand, you have a right to be angry,” he said. “Until we can hire more police, I can’t speak for the state police. We have adjusted schedules, but you can only adjust so much when you don’t have enough police. It’s not a problem that’s just here, it’s the whole Valley. Departments don’t have enough.”

Ambrose reiterated in any situation, residents should call 911.

“You have to call 911,” he said. “If we have an officer on, they will definitely respond. If not, yes, you will be switched to state police.”

Residents who spoke up are concerned that if they call 911 anyone involved in criminal activity could be gone before any help arrives.

“I understand that,” Ambrose said. “The police can’t be in one spot all of the time.”

Residents are most concerned about the safety of children in the area.

“If it comes down to me catching charges to protect these kids, I’m OK with that,” one woman said.

Ambrose said if the house in question where alleged activity was taking place was next to his home, he would react in the same way.

“I would be doing the same thing you are right now,” Ambrose said. “I would be standing here angry. You have a right to.”

Council President Brett Berish said the borough needs to contact the property owner first. Increased police presence in the area is also crucial, he added.

“But, again, we don’t have 24/7 police, we can’t sit there,” Berish said. “If you have cameras, if you are getting license plate numbers, please give that to our chief. I don’t want to overstep my bounds, but those are things I can tell you. I don’t know if there are active investigations, if there are, obviously no one is going to comment on an active investigation.”

Residents claim information has been passed along but nothing comes of it.

“We need to collectively as a community need to do something about this,” a woman said.

Berish said residents should not be worried about ramifications of reaching out to 911.

“I am telling you, I would call 911. I would have been there knocking on the door already, I understand. Council cares. We do care,” Berish said. “I know it’s an issue and we will do our due diligence, but just because a car stops at an address multiple times a day, it’s difficult to prove. We might be able to say we think what’s going on, but the chief might be able to tell you it’s hard to prove…but no one thinks you are crying wolf.”

Police told residents to provide any information they have to the department so officers can look into and investigate concerns.