It has been an eventful spring and summer in Shorewood, with our little police department involved in some high profile incidences. As usual, along with the rest of the community the Westies have plenty of opinions to go around. In general, we pretty much support SPD’s latest actions.
The incident that occurred above Harleys on Oakland has drawn the most controversy and criticism from a number of people in the village, including attacks against Officer Otto. Most of the Westies know her very well and the attack on her was unwarranted and appears to be an out and out lie. She is highly professional and can forward a no nonsense personae when called for. Those who criticize her must have missed the rescue last year that she participated in. It led to a commendation for her.
Unfortunately, most personal contact with the cops is usually when getting pulled over for some traffic or parking violation. That is not the best way to meet our local police. Our police force is focused on ‘community policing’, where our officers are highly visible, available and make a concerted effort to get to know the local residents and businesses.
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A challenge for SPD is the location and demographics of the village. We are the only village on the North Lake Shore that has two important thoroughfares, East Capitol and North Oakland, which goes directly through the village. We have a high volume of transiting traffic bringing all sorts of people in and through the village. Add to that Estabrook Park and the Oak Leaf Trail and you have additional challenges that must be policed.
Shorewood has a wide variety of housing and one of the most diverse populations on the North Shore also adds to the policing complexity. The professionalism of SPD has made it possible to effectively police the community with only minimal incidences of police/community conflicts.
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I would recommend that members in the community take an opportunity to go up to the officers and introduce yourself and get to know our patrol officers. Also, if you have a complaint that involves one of our officers, give the chief a call.
As far as the Westies are concerned, we get a pretty good bang for our buck.
