A BRIEF HISTORY....
One day in 1992, a resident of the Central Meadowbrook Neighborhood was getting in his car after enjoying his lunch at home. A man came up to him while he was still in his driveway, held him at gunpoint, and demanded his car. Our neighbor was not badly injured in this incident, but he was fortunate. It could have been much worse. He had heard about other crimes that had been taking place within his neighborhood--many of them being property crimes on his street, Provine--but this incident made it all too real for him and his roommate. They decided to take action and fight back against crime.
In late 1992, the two of them contacted CRO Holly Murtaugh to establish a plan. Within weeks, they had organized a meeting and distributed fliers to jundreds of homes in the area. By March of 1993, the first patrols of Central Meadowbrook Citizens on Patrol (CMed COPs) went out. Their dedication paid off when it was reported that by the beginning of 1994, crime had dropped 43% in the area.
Since the beginning of Central Meadowbrook COPs, the members have continued their fight against crime through support of the police department (particularly in the East Sector) and through patrols. The CMed Coordinator and recent Co-Coordinator have played an important part in organizing and planning events, writing, publishing, and distributing monthly newsletters, recruiting new members, nominating and advising memers who want to attend the academy, helping the monthly schedulers contact people, and keeping the local neighborhood associations updated on the groups' activities and accomplishments. CMed COPs has sponsored such events as East Sector Christmas Parties, Annual National Night Out parties, and a Five-Year Anniversary Party in 1998, celebrating their continual dedication to protecting the community. Several members have attended the academy and other various programs offered by the Fort Worth Police Department and many have volunteered their time to crime prevention efforts outside of the Central Meadowbrook Neighborhood, extending throughout the city.
Because of this determined group of people, crime in Central Meadowbrook has significantly decreased since 1992. With many hours of dedication from all the members of CMed COPs and the support of the Fort Worth Police Department, the residents of this neighborhood can feel better about taking family walks down their streets, playing in their parks, and enjoying leisurely lunches ant their homes. It is with pride and respect for their neighbors that CMed COPs members continue to fight back against crime!
C.P. a CMed COPs member
Central Meadowbrook COPs had a banner year from June 2000 to June 2001. March of 2001 marked the eighth anniversary of Central Meadowbrook's commitment to keeping the neighborhood crime-free. The effort has been bolstered this past year by the addition of fifteen new members, bringing a total membership to ninety. Besides continuing the fight against crime through patrols, Central Meadowbrook members have also increased their support of other community organizations such as Citizens Advisory Committee, Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association, Central Meadowbrook and West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Associations and, particularly, the Urban Search Team. The Search Team has a total of 82 members with 26 of those members from Central Meadowbrook COPs. The group also has supported various police-related functions such as the annual Crime Fair, East Division Police and Code Blue Christmas Party, National Night Out Against Crime and the Code Blue Golf Tournament. For the coming year, Central Meadowbrook COPs plans to continue its support of all of these organizations and events while focusing on the primary purpose of Citizens on Patrol: Patrolling and keeping the neighborhoods free of crime.