HARVEY | Over the 50 years that Donald Drewenski has called Harvey home, he claims he has seen the crime level go from good to bad. But it is only recently that he has noticed a change in what he described as the city's once-peaceful 1st Ward.

"It's starting to get bad with gangs and fighting," Drewenski said.

Drewenski was one of a small group of residents who attended a public safety forum this week at Unity Church, 147th and Markham Drive, to address issues of security in the city.

The forum was arranged by Charles Givines, a 35-year Harvey resident and one of four candidates who will be seeking the position of 1st Ward alderman in April's election.

Givines, 71, said that senior citizens in particular have expressed their safety concerns to him.

"If the want to go out and walk their dog or something, they've got to feel safe in this community," Givines said. "And they don't feel safe."

Givines invited retired Chicago police officer Howard Saffold to answer questions from the audience. Saffold served as chief of security for the late Mayor Harold Washington and currently leads a community-based organization called the Positive Anti-Crime Thrust.

Saffold encouraged residents to explore problems that can lead to crime in cities, including closing youth centers, unemployment and the release of uneducated ex-convicts into communities.

"You can't build your way out of this mess we're in with prisons," Saffold said. "The vast majority of people going into prison these days have a substance abuse problem, and they're not being treated while they're incarcerated." Saffold stressed the need for organization in the ward and the importance of open lines of communication between neighbors and between the community and the police department.

If you have a problem between the community and the police, it's not that easy to resolve just by saying, 'we need more police,'" Saffold said.

City Treasurer Gloria Morningstar serves as president of the local neighborhood association and pointed out that the low level of pay for police officers in Harvey encourages experienced officers to seek work in nearby, less crime-ridden communities where they can receive a higher salary - after Harvey has paid for their training.

Morningstar said that the starting pay for a Harvey police officer is $26,000.

Drewenski inquired about how to take politics out of the police and fire departments and remarked that the amount of unsolved crimes in the city remind him of the "Al Capone days." He said that communication among neighbors is made difficult because of language barriers.

Givines, who was endorsed prior to the forum by former Harvey Mayor David Johnson, said that he would like to see the police do more legwork.

"We're going to promote putting policemen back on the beat where they belong," Givines said. "We pay the police for protection. And the way to protect us is not to drive by 15 miles an hour and look."