Public Safety

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Lawrenceville United was founded due to the public safety concerns of residents. Over the past 17 years, we have utilized coordinated strategies between residents and police that have resulted in a dramatic reduction in crime in the neighborhood. From 2010 to 2017 alone, the neighborhood has seen a 41% reduction in Part 1 crimes.

 

Recent Progress

Crime continues to trend downward in Lawrenceville. Some more analysis of crime in Lawrenceville:

  • Part 1 Violent Crime decreased by 16% from 2016 to 2017
  • Part 1 Property Crime decreased by 7% from 2016 to 2017
  • Part 2 Crimes decreased by 8% from 2016 to 2017
  • With a Total Crime Rate per 1,000 residents of 55, Lawrenceville has the lowest total crime rate of any neighborhood in Zone 2’s jurisdiction, and is significantly lower than the City of Pittsburgh crime rate of 92.2.
  • The vast majority (71%) of Part 1 crimes in Lawrenceville in 2017 were theft, with retail theft making up 76% of overall thefts and the rest belonging to thefts from auto. Consequently, Zone 2 Police continues to encourage residents to make sure personal belongings are hidden from view in unattended vehicles.
  • There were 11 fatal overdose deaths for 15201 in 2017 — the same as 2016.

For further analysis of crime in Lawrenceville in 2017, please see this presentation from Zone 2 Police.

 

Public Safety Action Team

Lawrenceville United hosts a bi-monthly meeting with agencies from various social services and safety agencies; including the Department of Public Safety, Zone 2 Police Department, City Council District 7, Permits Licenses and Inspections, Disruptive Properties, Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, Department of Public Works, the Mayor’s Office, and more.

The Public Safety Action Team outlines reoccurring issues and strategies in the Lawrenceville community and identify steps to improve or eradicate them.  These issues can range from severely blighted and neglected properties to habitual law and code violations to nuisance properties.

In order to ensure the community concerns are kept relevant in each meeting, all block watch captains are invited to participate in the process, and Lawrenceville United collects 311 and 911 reports each month and incorporates them into the bi-monthly agendas.  If you have a concern or problem and would like it to be addressed by the team, please be sure to file a report with 311 (non-emergency and building violations) or 911 (any emergency or after-hour 311 report) and then notify Lawrenceville United of the concern and report number.

 

Block Watch Meetings 

Lawrenceville United works with residents to coordinate monthly block watch meetings for each part of the neighborhood: Upper Lawrenceville (10th Ward), Central Lawrenceville (9th Ward), and Lower Lawrenceville (6th Ward).  At these meetings, public safety concerns, upcoming events, issues, new development projects, construction and utility information, and other topics concerning your neighborhood are discussed. All meetings are open to anyone, and residents are welcome to attend any given meeting.  Come, listen, and share your thoughts, questions, and concerns with your community!  Click here for a calendar view and click on the Block Watch to see topics on the agenda.

  • 6th Ward Block Watch (Lower Lawrenceville): last Monday of each month at 7 p.m. Location: St. Augustine’s Church in the Lower Room (37th Street). There is an accessible entrance from the back of the building on 36th Street, which looks like THIS.
  • 9th Ward Block Watch (Central Lawrenceville): 3rd Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Location: St. Mary’s Lyceum (330 45th Street). If you are driving, please be considerate to neighbors and park in the small lot by the church (the entrance looks like THIS).
  • 10th Ward Block Watch (Upper Lawrenceville): 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Location: Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Workforce Development Center (118 52nd Street) in the Multi-Purpose Room. Ample parking is available.

 

File a Silent Complaint

Report non-emergency criminal/suspicious activity using the Pittsburgh Police’s Silent Complaint Form or by contacting Zone 2 Community Resource Officer Antoine Davis at 412-255-0921 or antoine.davis@pittsburghpa.gov. You can also anonymously call Lawrenceville United and give us the information and we can pass it along to Zone 2 and will continue to monitor the complaint through our Public Safety Action Team.

 

Report a Problem Property

Report a problem property to Lawrenceville United here.