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Squirrel Hill patrols: 5 years on alert Citizen group lauded by police chief at anniversary event Tuesday, June 20, 2000 By Jonathan D. Silver, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
For the last five years, the Squirrel Hill Citizens Patrol has monitored the darker side of the neighborhood's goings-on. A fight here, an overdose there -- their alerts to police have run the gamut.
Cruising both Squirrel Hill and Point Breeze four nights a week in their own vehicles, members use radios to contact a base in the West End if they spot something suspicious. From there, information is channeled to 911.
Those on patrol keep in the background, never exiting their cars to intervene. They're not vigilantes, and that's one of the things that has endeared them to the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.
"You are an important asset to the community, and your diligence is appreciated," city police Chief Robert W. McNeilly Jr. told the group yesterday at an anniversary function in Frick Park.
Patrol director Andy Dlinn acknowledged that the overall drop in crime in Squirrel Hill since 1995 cannot be attributed directly to his group. But he said he believed that the patrol's efforts have played a part.
"Even though we can't say it's us, we can certainly say we're part of the mix. We're an extra set of eyes and ears," said Dlinn, 47, a stockbroker by day.
These days, thanks to the patrol, there's no more drag-racing on Beechwood Boulevard, he said. Incidences of drunken brawls, drinking in cars and dope dealing have declined.
The operation has been so successful that Dlinn said the patrol is faced with a new problem: boredom.
As the neighborhood becomes safer, it's not as much of a priority for some members to show up for patrols, he said. Early on, members would direct calls to 911 about twice a night. These days, the need to contact police is rare.
In 1998, the patrol expanded to encompass Point Breeze. At first, there were about 30 volunteers from that neighborhood. The number has trickled down to a half-dozen. Dlinn predicts, however, membership from Point Breeze will climb again in the wake of a recent string of home invasions there.
The patrol's origins stretch back to 1994, when Squirrel Hill residents felt an atmosphere of delinquency was settling on their leafy, moneyed section of Pittsburgh. Gang members were hanging out in front of stores, people were being accosted on Murray Avenue and drug users were frequenting parks.
Residents finally had enough. At a fall meeting with the police, they vented their frustration. Dlinn, who attended as a representative of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, mentioned a successful citizens patrol in Baltimore's orthodox Jewish community.
Police were skeptical, not wanting people to adopt an attitude that actor Charles Bronson portrayed in several films and take the law into their own hands. It turned out they had nothing to worry about. Dlinn had a policy of nonintervention written into the group's bylaws.
In May 1995, the patrol hit the streets. That first year there were up to a dozen members who rode around the neighborhood on Thursdays and Saturdays with magnetic signs on the sides of their cars.
"Initially, you could cut it with a knife between us and the cops. It was very, very tense," Dlinn recalled.
By month's end, things had changed, he said. The police asked if the group planned to patrol on Memorial Day.
"We said we weren't planning on it, but they said, 'We could use some help,' " Dlinn said.
Just as their relationship with the police improved -- the group planned to give police Comdr. Edward Kelly of the Squirrel Hill station a certificate of appreciation -- so did the neighborhood.
"I believe that they do make a difference on the street," Kelly said. "They know their boundaries, and we've never had an incident where they've crossed over and tried to make an arrest or get involved in any violent activities."
Police statistics show that last year, major crimes in Squirrel Hill were down 18 percent from 1995, signaling drops in every category except aggravated assault. Overall crime dropped 8 percent in the same time period. The category of less serious crimes, however, rose 7 percent for the same time frame, including increases in aggravated assault, vandalism, liquor law violations and disorderly conduct.
Over time, patrols expanded to Wednesdays through Saturdays. The group swelled. Dlinn and his colleagues helped start up patrols in other neighborhoods.
These days, though, membership in Squirrel Hill is on the way down. There are about 60 or so people on the active roster out of 83 volunteers.
"Now the biggest problem I have is boredom. There's not a lot of stuff anymore," Dlinn said.
During a 1994 interview, Dlinn said the idea of the patrol was to put itself out of business. That hasn't happened yet, but Dlinn believes his group has taken a step in that direction.
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