Kentwood PD talks safety with residents

KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) - A community meeting with police in the wake of the Jan. 5 murders of David and Vivian Bouwman was packed Monday evening -- but residents who spoke to 24 Hour News 8 left disappointed.

The community meeting was held at the Kentwood library and organized by the Princeton Estates Neighborhood Association. An overflow room had to be opened to accommodated everyone.

Among the advice police offered: Keep an eye on your neighbor, leave your lights on, invest in security and get a dog. But residents weren't satisfied.

"I just wanted to know if the police would be patrolling in our area a little bit more often because of what's going on," said resident Amy Debartolo.

Joyce Henry, who lives about a mile from where the Bouwmans were found shot to death in their home, was particularly frustrated. Her home was broken into on Oct. 23.

"I was home. That was the most frightening thing about it for me. My personal space. It takes all the safety and security away where you're supposed to feel the safest," she said.

Henry said the home invaders broke in through a locked sliding glass door and took several thousand dollars worth of property.  

"I think more of my struggle has been that I have not been contacted by police since," she said.

And, she said, information from her and others who have been recently victimized in the neighborhood may have proven helpful.

"We've been asking ourselves could potentially, possibly the Bouwmans still be alive if the police had been more involved? If they had come to us, talked to us. We're willing to talk. We're willing to have that involvement from the neighborhood," Henry said.

Residents did find some things helpful -- like an overview of the local crime mapping system -- but they wanted more.