Bristol Street Robberies Cause Concern; Town Watch in ‘Planning’ Stage

The slew of robberies and attempted robberies that have taken place in Bristol Borough since September 30 have caused a sense of fear among some residents.

Sunday night’s gun-point robbery is the fourth street robbery or attempted robbery in Bristol’s North Ward and the fifth borough-wide in 23 days.

On Monday, borough officials said the investigations are ongoing and did not want to comment any further due to the nature of the probe.

So far, there was one suspect arrested for the  strong-arm robbery on Race Street  about 10 days ago. Officials have hinted more arrests could be coming, although specific details were not provided.

The borough’s police department  is down three officers until January. In the new year, Patrolman Dean Johnson is expected to return from knee surgery, Chief Arnold Porter said.

Sgt. Joe Moors said last week that he hadn’t heard anything new in terms of the proposed police hirings talked about by borough officials recently. He did say that he is starting to see the work the department has done over the last ten years slip away.

“Right now, we are working from the standpoint of being reactive, as opposed to being proactive because we are shorthanded,” he said. “We have a number of guys working plenty of overtime, and that’s been going on for a while now.”

Residents of the borough have decided not to wait on police department hiring and are working to form a Bristol Borough Town Watch.

A meeting will be held at the municipal building next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Borough residents coordinating the creation of the watch will host the event.

Mayor Pat Sabatini said he thinks its a great idea, “as long as it doesn’t become one of those politically motivated things on social media.”

Organizers of the meeting have reached out to a number of other town watch groups that have proven to be effective locally, Eric Sokalski, one of the organizers, said Thursday. He added that it is a planning meeting and they hope to get the group running as soon as possible.

On Friday, October 10 along the boundary lines of the North and West wards, borough officers with other law enforcement  personnel showed increase presence with foot patrols. Members of police patrols walking on Buckley Street were spotted wearing DEA jackets, according to residents.

Moors would not confirm or deny at the time if the DEA was in assisting the department that night. The following weekend beefed up patrols were once again noticed by residents.

“We have to do two things: get the persons committing these crimes off of our streets and get the police department the help it needs,” Sabatini said. “This is a safety issue now, not politics and we need to do what we can to get make our streets safe for all to be on at anytime.”

Residents in the North Ward of the borough have expressed fear over the robberies.

“You think it’s a coincidence, these robberies are taking place in this part of town? When was the last time a council member or for that matter the mayor was seen walking over here? Not since the last big election, that’s when. We have four council members that cover this area and not one of them I’ve seen on Buckley street in years. Its a disgrace,” a North Ward resident said. The resident asked not to be identified by name.

Borough officers with support from other law enforcement agencies made their presence known on the streets as they traveled through the nooks and crannies of the borough. Other officers were close behind as they tried to provide a sense of safety and security to the residents of the northward.

Sabatini and Council President  Ralph DiGuiseppe recently said they expected to see names of potential officers on the November 3 council meeting agenda.

Moors said he hopes the hiring comes as soon as possible because the reactive position is not one the department is comfortable working from.

“This is about safety on our streets,”  he said.