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Prospector complaints: bad drivers, graffiti, loud music, ‘hooligans’

Jay Hamburger THE PARK RECORD

Some of the people in Prospector are worried about bad drivers.

Others do not like loud music, do not want drugs in the neighborhood or say there is graffiti. One does not like the "hooligans" in Prospector.

At least three people polled by the Park City Police Department recently said there were not criminal problems in Prospector.

A police officer whose beat encompasses Prospector in early November asked people in a parking lot at a grocery store to complete a survey about crime in the neighborhood. The survey consisted of five open-ended questions inquiring whether people see a "criminal problem," what steps the Police Department could take and whether someone is "willing to help make a difference and how."

The officer, who has been with the department for a few years, approached 20 people in the parking lot on Nov. 3. Thirteen completed the survey, which is not scientific.

Phil Kirk, a police captain, said the survey was a community-oriented policing project undertaken by the officer. Community-oriented policing involves a police department that takes input in its crime-fighting efforts.

The officer did not ask for the names of the people who completed the survey, Kirk said. He said the officer anticipates continuing to conduct the survey for an undetermined period of time.

"He can better come up with responses and deploying his resources," Kirk said.

According to Kirk, some of the responses to the officer’s survey question about problems in the neighborhood included:

  • bad drivers
  • theft
  • "hooligans"
  • drugs
  • graffiti
  • loud music
  • bicycle thefts
  • tipping over garbage cans

    Three people said there were no criminal problems, he said.

    The people who completed the survey, meanwhile, indicated they would like more officers on patrol, including late at night. They said they would like the officers more visible as well.

    The responses about problems in the neighborhood closely resemble many of the complaints lodged with the Police Department over the years. Police logs frequently include entries involving graffiti, loud music and thefts. Stolen bicycles are also a long-running problem in Park City.

    Kirk said the responses were not surprising and the police were aware of the issues beforehand.

    "I’m glad that’s the case. We seem to be on the same page," he said.


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