The Stapleton Mom’s Yahoo Group works hard to be on the front line of crime prevention. Members are vigilant about posting strange behavior or things that just don’t seem right so that others in the neighborhood keep their heads up. In years past, members would do their best to create a description of an individual or an event that seemed out of place in Stapleton. Some of these descriptions gained the PC ire of other members. “I didn’t like people being described as ‘Hispanic,’” said Yahoo Group member Kristin Marie. “The word ‘Hispanic’ just has so many negative connotations. I’m really not that comfortable saying it to you.”
The PC police didn’t just stop at ethnicity. Age, gender, height and weight suddenly became off-limits as well. “Just because they were breaking into a garage, does not necessarily mean it is a man,” said another Mom’s member, Dianne Miller. “We have to be a little blinder when it comes to crime, or even thinking something is a crime. Maybe that person was fixing the garage at 3AM. We just don’t know. All some of us are asking is to not report anything unless you are absolutely sure a crime is being committed, and if you can get a photo of the perpetrator instead of a description, that would be great.”
The PC police on Stapleton Moms have certainly done their part. Crime reports on Stapleton Moms have decreased about 60%, which to Marie, is a good thing. “It’s nice to not see people reporting suspicious behavior and attaching it to descriptions of people and places,” said Marie. “That’s just not the kind of community we want to live in.” For others, the lack of reports has been negative. “Well, crime has increased about 40% since this new unofficial policy was launched,” said Moms member Cindy Stone. “And when people do report things, they simply aren’t that helpful.” In fact, a recent description read, “Person with clothes in some neighborhood alley, may or may not be trying to get into gates to take items from owners, but may also be there to fix sprinklers.”
Police Chief Gerald Whitman encourages residents to give the best descriptions as possible to neighbors. “I know we live in a PC world,” says Whitman. “But you are not asking your neighbors to arrest anyone. You’re asking them to be aware of their environment. The best way to do this is to be as descriptive as possible.” Chief Whitman offers the same advice for residents if they call the police. “Please, by all means, speak candidly. We need the best description possible. Just give it to us straight.”
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