On Thursday, Jan. 22, the Belle Haven Public Safety Action Team along with the City’s police and community services departments hosted a dialogue between Belle Haven residents and police with a focus on code enforcement. The event was well received with nearly 40 residents in attendance and highlighted by a neighborhood update from Chief Bob Jonsen followed by a Q&A session on the facts and misconceptions about code enforcement. The meeting was facilitated by Belle Haven resident Alejandro Vilchez of AV Consulting who has been working for the City in his contractual role as the Community Connector. Chief Jonsen’s update focused on highlights of the 2014 crime statistics, including a 67% decrease in burglaries and overall 42% reduction in crime in the Belle Haven neighborhood. After the Chief’s update, residents took the time to recognize the accomplishments of the police department noting the improved engagement by police in the neighborhood and the opening of the new Neighborhood Service Center. The Chief then turned the meeting over to Eleonor Hilario, the City’s code enforcement officer, who he praised as being a City workhorse by responding and managing a caseload of 750 out of 1700 calls for service in 2014. Eleonor shared with residents that the focus of code enforcement is not to punish or give fines, but to work with residents to comply with municipal codes.