Pubdate: Wed, 07 Aug 2002 Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX) Copyright: 2002 Austin American-Statesman Contact: http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/today/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/32 TAKING BACK STREETS REQUIRES STRONG ACTION Residents of a North Austin neighborhood are good examples of people unwilling to surrender their neighborhood to prostitutes or drug dealers. Nor are they willing to become what's known euphemistically as a "neighborhood in transition." Here's hoping that they get action and not the pop sociology for which there is strong affection in Austin. So far, the signs are good. At a rally over the weekend, the neighbors heard from District Attorney Ronnie Earle and Mayor Gus Garcia, both promising support. Also present was Police Chief Stan Knee. The neighbors are fighting to call attention to the undesirable changes that threaten their neighborhood. They are resisting becoming another urban statistic. They are demanding action. So far, the organizers have been effective in getting the attention of police administrators and politicians. The proof in the pudding will be what kind of action is taken to correct the situation that caused the community outrage in the first place. Residents in the Rundberg Lane area see drug dealers and prostitutes becoming common sights in their once-middle-class neighborhood. Rather than accept that negative change, they want to reverse it. The message the neighbors deliver is a simple one: "We deserve safe streets." So do we all. Earle has used stay-away orders that prohibit people arrested or convicted on drug or prostitution charges from returning to the sites where they were apprehended and delivered a message to those attending a weekend rally: "If you persist in making people miserable, we will put you in jail," Earle warned. Tough words, but hollow ones if not accompanied by a coordinated law enforcement effort to discourage drug dealing, prostitution and other illegal activity in neighborhoods. The experience of the Rundberg neighbors is shared by residents of Gaston Place, a Northeast Austin housing project plagued by prostitution and drug dealing. After the rallies and speeches, city officials must make a sustained commitment to strong law enforcement presence in the troubled neighborhoods and prosecutors must do their jobs aggressively. There is room in this discussion, for long-term approaches to the root causes of crime, of course. But for now, what's needed is a strong law enforcement presence to keep the drug dealers at bay. Austin City Council members are beginning budget discussions and have the opportunity to focus tightly on delivering safe streets. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth