SHADCO J-1

Last night was the monthly SHADCO meeting for the Riverside/Avondale/Ortega/OP area, held at the Willow Branch Library. The turn out was fairly decent, I suppose. It was my first meeting. The officers were very patient in answering all of our questions which mostly centered around the best ways to protect ourselves from petty criminals and the like.
I do find it a little odd that one single SHADCO group would cover such a large area though. And looking at the map for each division, that seems to be the norm rather than the exception. It makes me wonder how effective the groups can be when their members are spread out over such an area. This doesn't exactly scream community cooperation, but what do I know.
There was talk last night of splitting up the group to have one dedicated to the Riverside area. I think that's a great idea. Even more than that I think there should be a group for each sub district, J-1 J-2 and J-3. The police tout manpower as the major issue stopping the split of the districts, but I think that's bogus. There were 5 officers at our meeting last night. Why so many? Do we really need that many officers to give a simple report on crime stats and to answer questions on how to best secure and protect your home? I don't think so. I think one or two officers per group would be sufficient to get the job done. I'm sure that's an issue for another meeting.