With a crime spike in the Allston-Brighton area, recent reports of theft on South Campus and a “Carsonist” in Allston, safety is on the minds of many crime fighters, including the Guardian Angels.
“We are extra eyes and ears for law enforcement,” said Jim Manna, chapter leader of the Boston Guardian Angels unit. “We deter crime.”
The Guardian Angels is an alliance of everyday citizens who volunteer their time and energy to fight crime across America. They have 143 chapters in 17 countries, as well as the Boston area.
“We are already established in Boston,” Manna, whose street name is Sniper, said. “[Currently] we are recruiting and expanding in Boston.”
The Guardian Angels patrol neighborhoods unarmed in order to be eyes and ears for police authorities. They have been known to make citizens arrests and use their presence in numbers to safeguard streets and neighborhoods.
Manna, who has been working with Guardian Angels for eight years, said the Boston Angels patrol the Red, Orange and Green Lines on the T, as well as other problematic Boston neighborhoods.
The Guardian Angels are part of a nationwide movement of citizens who have decided to take crime prevention into their own hands.
The Real Life Superheroes organization seeks to improve their communities by having superheroes, with code names like “Urban Avenger” to “Ded Beat,” work safety patrols, participate in charity work and visit schools to give talks.
The Guardian Angels attempted to set up a Boston chapter in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, but were unsuccessful, Manna said.
The patrols go out often, but vary the number of patrols week to week, Manna said. Some weeks will see patrols every day whereas other weeks will only have a few patrols sent out.
“I’m an Angel 24 hours, seven days a week,” Manna said, who has a day job and a family.
The Boston chapter of the Guardian Angels has no tangible headquarters in Boston, but members still have central meeting places to plan and coordinate, Manna said.
“We have made South Station our headquarters,” Manna said. “[We meet] above the golden arches in the food court area.”
The founder, Curtis Sliwa, was a restaurant manager at a McDonald’s in New York who was “tired of all the slime and grime,” Manna said.
Since the Guardian Angels began 33 years ago, they have won the support of New York Mayors Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg and have even added a CyberAngels sector to safeguard the Internet, according to the Guardian Angels website.
Their school safety programs are even required in New York and New Jersey, according to the website.
The Guardian Angels are always in need of more volunteers, age 17 or older and without a felony background, that want to make a difference, Manna said.
An infusion of volunteers would create more shifts and patrols, he said.
“The best moment is when some old lady or senior citizens comes up to me and says ‘Thank you, I can feel safe sitting on my porch. I don’t have to worry about drive-by shootings,’” Manna said.
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Hello, My name is Jim SNIPER Manns. You Can just call me SNIPER. I enjoyed reading your News Paper article. I appreciate the research you did and how you wrote the article. I hope we can meet up and do a follow up story and maybe add a picture or two of tthe Bosotn Guardian Angels. We are on patrol Wed Night- Feb.15th and meeting up at the Boston South Station Headquarters at 6:30pm The HQ is still above the golden arches. We are meeting up with a first time new recruit. Next article I would like to add our 24 hr toll free hotline phone no as well as our website and offer a free womens self defense class taught by the Guardian Angels. Maybe you would like to be our media specialist with the Guardian Angels and follow us around a few times. Feel free to call me any time..
Sincerely, SNIPER – Boston Guardian Angels Chapter Leader Commander (954) 588-5777
The Boston Guardian Angels are seeking 30 new recruits to join our Crime Fighting Team.
Join today and get volunteer hours for school and also a way to give back to your community.
Call the Guardian Angels Hotline @ 1-877-781-8986
http://www.guardianangels.org
http://www.youtube.com/3rdrail1988
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