The Frankford Civic Association discusses crime statistics and ways to increase meeting turnout.
Last Thursday night, the Frankford Civic Association provided updates on the community and held a conversation on how to boost engagement.
Overall, crime went down in 2017 for Frankford.
“Aggravated assault, burglary and theft are the lowest they have been since we began tracking in 2013. Firearm crime is about at the level of 2013 with 179 incidents. Robbery has continued its decline since 2013 with 247, up slightly since last year.
Ninety-one arrests for weapons violations is a record and is 38 percent higher than in 2013,” said board member Bob Smiley. “That is good news because those guns are off the street and may help explain why crime with firearms has declined.”
The civic had planned on doing a discussion on maximizing the effort of 311, but will hold the larger conversation to when there will be more in attendance for a future meeting.
There will be a Frankford Neighborhood Advisory Committee zoning meeting at the Frankford Community Development Corporation, 4667 Paul St., on Thursday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. There will be five properties up for review. You must be a resident of the neighborhood to vote at the zoning meeting.
The meeting concluded with a discussion about how to boost engagement. Suggestions included trying to mirror other civic associations’ methods and changing the location of the meeting in future months.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 1, at 7 p.m. at St. Mark’s Church, 4442 Frankford Ave. ••
John Cole can be reached at JCole@bsmphilly.com
