KRTN received the following update from Laura L. Brewer.
The last City-wide Neighborhood Watch Meeting on Thursday, January 14th was very well attended and provided quite a bit of information.
A special “Thank you” to DA Donald Gallegos, District Judge Emilio Chavez, Magistrate Judge Warren Walton, Raton City Commissioner Linde’ Schuster, Raton City Commissioner Ron Chavez, Raton City Commissioner Donald Giacomo, Raton City Manager Scott Berry and Raton Police Chief John Garcia for serving on the panel and answering questions from the audience.
Two websites that may be of interest are:
amlegal.com – a list of the City of Raton ordinances
nmcourts.gov – Raton is included in the 8th Judicial Court District.
The discussion during the January 14th meeting included:
1. Seeing a crime and reporting it immediately
– being a good witness by providing description of person, car, circumstances, place, etc.
– recording and reporting each time, even if the police haven’t been able to take your statement each time
2. Calling in to report dog at large every time – animal control will pick up a dog even if it doesn’t have a collar
– very large feral cat problem – not enough room at the shelter
– Raton Humane Society needs more volunteers – even a couple hours each week can make a difference
3. There are a variety of security systems available – our next City Neighborhood Watch Meeting will be for in-depth information on the various security systems that are available from local vendors.
4. DA Gallegos, Judge Chavez, Judge Walton and Chief Garcia provided information about procedures from arrests to conviction, sentencing and the length of time required, what is involved in each case, and what are some of the alternatives to criminal convictions, for example: civil action.
5. Raton Police Chief John Garcia is looking into training that may be provided by the Raton Police Department. In years past, signs and training were provided by a grant.
6. Everyone is strongly urged to get to know your neighbors, be aware of what is going on, be a good witness, continue making calls and providing information to our police.
Thank you to everyone who attended. I apologize that not everyone could fit into the Commission Chambers. Because of the large turnout and the increasing interest in Neighborhood Watch, our next City-wide Neighborhood Watch Meeting will be held at the Raton Convention Center on Monday, March 28th at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be a business fair for security systems. Several different vendors will be invited to set up a booth and take a few minutes to explain their system to the audience.
The North I-25 Neighborhood Watch Group will meet at Raton City Hall Commission Chambers on January 25th at 6:30 p.m. There should be plenty of room for this smaller group. Participants handbooks are available, and we will be collecting money to order the street signs, lawn signs and window decals.
~ Laura L. Brewer
