Pottstown Week in Review: Nov. 23 - Nov. 29

Between Nov. 23 and Nov. 29, 30 crimes were reported in Pottstown. According to crimemapping.com, there were 76 reported crimes during the same seven days in October. 

• Arson: 0
• Assaults: 4
• Burglaries: 2 
• Disturbing the peace: 4
• Drug/Alcohol violation: 4
• DUI: 1
• Fraud: 1
• Homicide: 0 
• Motor vehicle theft: 3
• Robbery: 0
• Sex crimes: 0 
• Theft/Larceny: 4 
• Vandalism: 3
• Vehicle break-in: 4 
• Weapons crimes: 0  

Crime by type for Nov. 23 - Nov. 29

Crimes by day between Nov. 23 - Nov. 29.

 If you have any tips, comments or concerns, send them to Caroline Sweeney at casweeney@pottsmerc.com. 

Crime stats from the tri-county area: Nov. 17 - Nov. 22

Check below to see what has happened in your area over the last week.

Do you have a news tip or concern? Send an email to Caroline at casweeney@pottsmerc.com or give her a call at 610-970-4445.

AMITY reported three crimes between Nov. 15 and Nov. 22

FRAUD: 2
DISTURBING THE PEACE: 1  


BOYERTOWN reported four crimes between Nov. 15 and Nov. 22 

ASSAULT: 1
DRUGS/ALCOHOL VIOLATION: 2
VANDALISM: 1  


BIRDSBORO reported three crimes between Nov. 15 and Nov. 22 

ASSAULT: 1
DISTURBING THE PEACE: 1 
VANDALISM: 1 

Pottstown Week in Review: Nov. 15 - Nov. 22

Between Nov. 15 and Nov. 22, 33 crimes were reported in Pottstown. According to crimemapping.com, there were 44 reported crimes during the same seven days in October.

• Arson: 0
• Assaults: 3
• Burglaries: 4 
• Disturbing the peace: 3
• Drug/Alcohol violation: 2
• DUI: 1
• Fraud: 1
• Homicide: 0 
• Motor vehicle theft: 1
• Robbery: 1
• Sex crimes: 0 
• Theft/Larceny: 6 
• Vandalism: 8
• Vehicle break-in: 3 
• Weapons crimes: 0 

 

Crime by type for Nov. 15 - Nov. 22 

Crime by day for Nov. 15 - Nov. 22

 

 If you have any tips, comments or concerns, send them to Caroline Sweeney at casweeney@pottsmerc.com. 

Remember to check back tomorrow for stats from surrounding townships. 

Police Briefs: Nov. 20, 2013

EAST PIKELAND — Police responded to a non-injury crash around 4:20 p.m. on Nov. 18 in a parking lot in the 1000 block of Township Line Road.
According to police, Katrina Streeter, 47, of Pottstown, backed her car into another car, police said.
Streeter allegedly failed three field sobriety tests and police said the officer on scene could smell alcohol on her breath.
She was charged with driving under the influence.

POTTSTOWN — Borough police are planning a driving under the influence enforcement during the week of Nov. 18, police said.
The exact location of the enforcement was not disclosed, but anyone with questions should call police at 610-970-6570.

LOWER POTTSGROVE — Township police are investigating multiple vehicle break in incidents that occurred between Nov. 14 and Nov. 15.
Police said the cars were on Brookview Lane in Sunnybrook Village and all the cars appeared to be unlocked.
According to police, the only reported stolen item was an iPod.
Anyone with information should call police at 610-326-1508.

OLEY — A Boyertown man and his wife sustained minor injuries after his car was involved in a two-vehicle crash on Nov. 16, police said.
Joseph Diachynsky, 88, was driving his 2008 Buick Lacrosse south on Oysterdale Road when it was struck by a westbound Chevrolet Suburban.
The Suburban was driven by 53-year-old Caroline Hill, of, Sinking Spring, police said.
According to police, Diachynskys wife, Carolyn, 88, was in the passenger seat of the Buick.
All three people involved were wearing seat belts, police said.
Carolyn and Joesph Diachynsky were taken to the hospital via ambulance, police said.
Hill was cited with failure to obey traffic signals, police said.

OLEY — State Police are asking for help in finding one or more suspects involved in a residential burglary in October.
Police said an air compressor was stolen from a garage in the 300 block of Main Street between 11:15 p.m. on Oct. 28 and 10 a.m. on Oct. 29.
Anyone with information should call police at 610-378-4011.

HONEY BROOK — Police are investigating the theft of gas cans, air hoses and a drill from the 2600 block of Cambridge Road.
Pennsylvania State Police said the items were taken between 8 p.m. on Nov. 6 and 8 a.m. on Nov. 7.
Anyone with information should call police at 610-486-6280.

HONEY BROOK — Police charged one woman with harassment after they were called to the 200 block of Deer Run Drive on Nov. 7.
Sharon Lynne Crawford, 51, of Honey Brook, was cited after allegedly harassing a 45-year-old woman, police said.
Charges were filed in district court.

2 men charged after using BB gun in alleged robbery

By Caroline Sweeney
casweeney@pottsmerc.com 

POTTSTOWN — Two men were arrested after leading police on a foot chase through the borough. Police said the men allegedly robbed a man at the Americas Best Value Inn on Nov. 13.
Jahlil Basir Dupree, 22, of Boyertown and Edward Spence Jr., 18, of Pottstown, were charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault because they allegedly used a BB gun to steal approximately $40 and two bags of marijuana, police said.
According to police, Dupree and Spence were seen by patrol officers as they ran west on King Street around 1:30 p.m.
Police said Dupree was running with his right hand in his jacket pocket. The suspects continued running north on North Hanover Street then headed east on Chestnut Street, police said.
When officers followed Dupree, they saw him allegedly stop and drop something under a car in the 200 block of Chestnut Street, police said.
After tackling Dupree in the parking lot near Church Street, police apprehended Spence in the 200 block of Chestnut Street after the pursing office threatened to use his stun gun, police said.
During their investigation, police discovered Dupree discarded a BB gun with markings and coloring similar to a handgun.
The victim of the alleged robbery said Dupree and Spence approached him and pushed the BB gun that was concealed in a knit cap, into the victims torso, police said.
Police said the victim complied with the suspects requests so he would not get shot.
Dupree and Spencer were arraigned by District Judge Scott Palladino on Nov. 14, according to court paperwork. Both men are confined to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $50,000 bail. They are both scheduled to appear in court again on Dec. 5.

East Pikeland Police, F.B.I. ask for help from public

The East Pikeland Police Department and the F.B.I. are asking for help from the public after a bank was robbed on Nov. 12.

The Wells Fargo Bank at 200 Schuylkill Road was robbed by three masked men around 11 a.m. that day, police said. The men, who were also wearing gloves and dark clothing, jumped the counter and took money from the tellers drawers before leaving through the back door, police said.

The three suspects were each armed with handguns, police said.

During their investigation, police believe the suspects are also connected to the robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank in Lower Merion Township on Nov. 4, police said. Three men entered the Wells Fargo Bank at 300 Levering Mill Road around 11 a.m. that Monday, wearing masks and armed with handguns. The suspects also jumped the counters, took money from the tellers and fled.

The suspects, according to police, should be considered armed and dangerous.

In a press release Monday, Police Chief James Franciscus said Wells Fargo is offering, "a substantial award for information leading to the arrest and conviction" of the suspects.

Anyone with information should call the F.B.I. at 610-353-4500 or the East Pikeland Police at 610-935-0606.

Car Seat Check: Berks County

Car seat checks will be available for three days near the end of the month, according to a release from the Pennsylvania State Police at Reading.

State police will be doing free car seat checks in conjunction with Click It or Ticket. 

• Thursday Nov. 21 - PSP Reading from Noon – 5 p.m.
• Saturday  Nov. 23 - PSP Reading from  8 – 11 a.m.
• Monday   Nov. 25 - PSP Hamburg from Noon – 3 p.m. 

 No appointment is necessary at any event. 

Crime stats from the tri-county area

The Pottstown Police department isn't the only department using crimemapping.com as a resource. Check below to see what has happened in your area. 

AMITY reported 11 crimes between Nov. 1 and Nov. 16 

Arson: 1

Assault: 3 

Burglary: 1 

DUI: 1 

Fraud: 1 

Theft/Larceny: 2 

Vandalism: 2 

BOYERTOWN reported 14 crimes between Nov 1. and Nov. 16 

Assault: 4 

Disturbing the peace: 2 

DUI: 2 

Fraud: 1 

Theft/Larceny: 1 

Vandalism: 4 

BIRDSBORO reported nine crimes between Nov 1. and Nov. 16 

Burglary: 1 

Theft/Larceny: 4 

Vandalism: 3 

Crimemapping.com: The interactive window into Pottstown crime

Instead of going to crimemapping.com, you can see the site right here. Every Friday morning, we will post a summary of the crimes that occurred during the week and you can see them on the interactive map.
 

From Nov. 7 through Nov. 14, 23 crimes were reported in the borough:

• Arson: 0
• Assaults: 2
• Burglaries: 5 
• Disturbing the peace: 4
• Drug/Alcohol violation: 1
• DUI: 0
• Fraud: 3
• Homicide: 0 
• Motor vehicle theft: 1
• Robbery: 2 
• Sex crimes: 0 
• Theft/Larceny: 2 
• Vandalism: 3
• Vehicle break-in: 0 
• Weapons crimes: 0 

For the first 14 days of the month, 66 crimes were reported which is down by more than half from the same time frame in October. During the first two weeks of last month, 140 crimes were reported around the borough, according to crimemapping.com.

Police Chief Richard Drumheller said the decrease in crime could be a result of directed patrols.

"We sent out patrols to look for the suspects in robberies and break-ins, and we were successful," he said.

Drumheller acknowledged that crime ebbs and flows and many factors are involved in a drastic rise or fall in crime.

Police search for three men after bank robbery in East Pikeland

Photo from video at the Wells Fargo Bank on Schuylkill Road in East Pikeland 

 EAST PIKELAND — Police are searching for three men who robbed the Wells Fargo Bank Tuesday morning.

Police said the mask-wearing men entered the bank at 200 Schuylkill Road around 11 a.m., each armed with a handgun.

The men, according to police, ordered employees and customers to get on the ground before jumping the counter and taking money from the teller windows.

Police did not say how much money was taken.

No one in the bank was injured, police said.

Despite the marked police cars in front of the bank, more than 10 customers tried to enter through the locked front doors.

One man even banged his fists against the glass trying to get the investigators attention.

Police said the Chester County Detectives and surrounding police departments responded to the scene.

The bank remained closed on Tuesday and police said it will likely reopen for regular business on Wednesday.

Crime mapping: An introduction

In conjunction with stories from print, the crime blog will feature information from Crime Mapping. We will use the graphs of crimes committed, an interactive map as well as tracking crime trends paired with interviews with police.

The interactive map feature for the blog is still being developed, but this screen shot is an example of what will be seen once the map is running. 

Each crime category has its own symbol which is used on the map. The website allows for crimes to searched by category and by date. 

The information is provided to the website by the Pottstown Police Department. After the data is plotted on the virtual map, the website generates graphs that are available and free to the public. 

Here are examples of the graphs provided by www.crimemapping.com for crimes committed in October 2013 around the borough: 

The pie chart generated by www.crimemapping.com shows what percentage each crime category was out of the 286 total crimes. 

Another graph created by www.crimemapping.com sections off how many of each type of crime was committed on each day of the week. 

If a crime did not occur, it does not get factored into the graphs for the selected time period. 

Interactive crime mapping tool beneficial for police, residents

POTTSTOWN — Mapping crime in Pottstown moved in the digital direction after Police Chief Richard Drumheller took over the department in the spring.
Now, instead of using thumbtacks and a paper map, the Pottstown Police Department is using www.crimemapping.com, to track crime and analyze trends in the borough.
The department pays for the services analysis and data but the interactive website can be viewed for free by the public.
“Quite frankly it provides a lot of information if you go on and look at it. It tells you what the date was, what the location was, what the crime was, what the time was and what the control number is,” Drumheller said about the information provided by the website.
When police officers write reports, the basic information is extracted by crimemapping.com and plotted on the virtual borough map.
The online tool is not just useful for the public, Drumheller said. The department started using the analysis they receive through their subscription to direct patrols to areas of town where they are needed.
Not only that, Drumheller said the website saved the department time.
“Believe it or not years ago - well not years ago, months ago - we used to data point (the crimes) and based on the information we had available we would make our own maps and plot the data,” Drumheller said.
He said crimemapping.com is also less labor intensive.
“It gives you a better visual clue of what is going on in the borough,” Drumheller said.
Crimes from homicide to driving under the influence and disturbing the peace are mapped. Each crime was assigned a colorful symbol by the website which makes finding particular crimes easy.
Not only are the crimes assigned symbols, but the free data can be broken down by date range, mile radius for specific points, and crime type.
Drumheller hopes the newly accessible information will pique the publics interest and spur a discussion with residents and police. He said investigations often benefit when residents help police.
“We don’t want to hide where crime happens in Pottstown. We want to let it be known,” Drumheller said. “We have crime like every other community and we share ours through the internet. We have no mysteries. We have no secrets, here it is.”