Block Watch Group's Future Uncertain

Officer James DeLeone will no longer head the Hellertown Police Department's Block Watch, he announced at the group's Oct. 26 meeting.

DeLeone, who is a veteran police officer, took over the role of block watch captain earlier this year.

"It's hard for me to come down here," he explained to about a dozen attendees. "I live up in the Pocono area."

DeLeone added that he hopes to retire from active duty in a few years, and said he plans to return to school in order to be able to teach after that.

Police department investigator Michael Dattilio--who has led block watch in the past--may head it in 2012, but a new leader for the group has not yet been chosen, and DeLeone said he did not know what the meeting schedule would be next year.

Currently, the block watch meets on a bimonthly basis, with meetings held at Hellertown Borough Hall at 7pm on the fourth Wednesday every other month. There is no meeting planned for December, due to the holidays.

DeLeone also addressed the concerns of several attendees who asked why chief Robert Shupp was not at the meeting, and said they had expected him to be.

"I've asked him several times to come, but things have happened that he hasn't been able to make it," he said.

According to DeLeone, who customarily discusses recent crime statistics at the meetings, this fall there have been "a lot of traffic citations" issued and "a lot of (arrests) for DUIs" in Hellertown.

In general, he said it's been a busy year for the borough police department, with officers responding to more than 5,000 calls as of late October. That number includes everything from traffic stops to ambulance calls to reports of abandoned vehicles on the street.

With regard to the last item, DeLeone said "a lot of people are getting concerned about vehicles that are parked (on the street) in front of their house."

While it's OK to call police when something seems suspicious or out of place, he explained that if a vehicle is parked legally "there's nothing (we) can do about it."

DeLeone also reminded residents that motorists "do not have to stop" at the rail trail crossings on Water and Walnut streets in the borough.

Stopping suddenly at a rail trail crossing could cause a rear-end collision, however, motorists must yield to pedestrians and cyclists, he said.

In contrast, the Meadows Road rail trail crossing in Lower Saucon Township is treated as a four-way stop, with stop signs posted both for motorists on Meadows Road and users of the Saucon Rail Trail.

Finally, DeLeone reminded residents to be wary of salesmen who may approach them while they are at home, particularly in light of .

In that incident, which was also discussed at an October Borough Council meeting, an elderly couple was robbed of jewelry and cash when one of two men used a ruse to distract the male resident of the home for about 10 minutes.

At that time, an accomplice entered the home through the front door and placed items inside a pillow case, before leaving undetected.

The theft was not detected until a day later, because the robber "closed every drawer that (he) opened," DeLeone commented.

"Just be a little edgy. Be on the cautious side," he advised.

He added that everyone should be "mindful" when using ATM machines and memorize their PIN numbers or keep them locked up at home.

"They can't get into that ATM unless you punch your numbers in," he said. "Don't take your numbers and put them on your card so that you remember them."