Public Safety Much Improved, At Our Penn Branch 7-Eleven

BATMAN remembers the old Penn Branch being rather lively.

 

by Mel Dyer

The public safety situation has much improved, at our Shops at Penn Branch, since the publication of my last article on the subject.

The CHARACTERS and panhandlers no longer gather in any number, noticeable enough to alarm, annoy or distract from keeping ourselves safe, going about our business, there. Penn Branch no longer operates in an environment that attracts criminal opportunists; so, let us assume that the prospects for intimidation, purse-snatchings, slightly more violent smash-n-grabs and straight-up ARMED ROBBERY ..are significantly less, than before.

Chronic vagrancy is not tolerated by the 7-Eleven stores in Cleveland Park, Chevy Chase, Georgetown or Spring Valley - I've been to those stores - and I can tell you it is not tolerated in Penn Branch, either. I have spoken with the owner of our 7-Eleven, and, believe me, ..she is working so hard to keep her store and storefront, a hospitable place to shop. Furthermore, she invites all of us Branchers to share our concerns with her, before we silently start passing by the Shops at Penn Branch, for other places, ..west of the Big Dirty and out of town.

Chronic loitering distracts us all from keeping ourselves and our families safe from potentially more violent crime. That's the big deal. That is why we cannot tolerate it.

Keep telling our Penn Branch store owners and cashiers to pay attention to what's going on outside their stores AND to call the police, when they see loiterers and panhandlers, gathering. E-mails, tweets and text messages - WRITTEN complaints - make the most impact...

But let's start out with a conversation.

[Second Edition]