Only one year after its implementation, the City of Peoria’s Neighborhood Policing Program has proven to be a success so far. The program has police officers working proactively with the citizens in designated “hot zones.” Hot zones were chosen by comparing census tracks and respective crime rates, selecting areas such as the East Bluff and the far south end of the city.

The Neighborhood Policing Program, an updated version of the Neighborhood Enhancement Action Team (N.E.A.T.) program, places Problem Oriented Policing (P.O.P.) officers in designated zones so they get to know the residents. To Lieutenant Robert Baer, the officer in charge of the P.O.P. unit, establishing strong relationships between officers and residents is most important.

“This program is about making officers available for face to face, person to person contact,” he said in a phone interview, “Because the officers are there in person, they can find out what’s going on immediately and address it.”

Jack Baize, a retired Peoria Patrol officer and president of the Willow Knolls Residents’ Recreation Association also noted the merits of the tactic.

“[The officer] knows the regular people that are in and out around the district, and can recognize the strange ones,” Baize said in an email.

Once officers are made aware of a problem in their area, most often vandalism, burglary or drugs, and the team decides on the best solution. Many times the solution is to flood the neighborhood with police units in marked cars, on bicycle, or using covert surveillance.

The combined efforts of a P.O.P team that deals primarily with drug related issues, and an N.E.A.T. team that enforces city ordinances, is often most effective at lowering crime.

“Using between 10 and 20 officers to give tickets for stuff like noise violations and littering often leads to additional violations or arrests for revoked licenses, warrants, and drug activity,” Lt. Baer said.

Often times all it takes is a greater police presence to lower crime in any given area. “Any time you can flood an area with increased police officers, the problem will decrease,” Baiz commented. Residents often appreciate the work of the team so much that they applaud officers as they make arrests and give tickets.

But are crime levels really going down? Statistics available on the Peoria Police Department’s website paint an unclear picture, showing little difference in the number of arrests and calls from last year to this year. Lt. Baer maintained that the Neighborhood Policing Program is a double-edged sword.

“Because officers are more proactive, they end up giving out more ordinance violations and tickets, and make more arrests, which cause the statistics to go up,” he said. He added that the results of the program would be more obvious after one or two years. “It’s more important that the neighborhoods see the difference,” said Anne Ruggles, coordinator of the city’s Crime Stoppers division.

LaVetta Ricca, president of Olde Towne South Neighborhood Association, is one of the many people benefiting from the program.

“I've lived here for 66 years and watched as my neighborhood deteriorated,” she said via email, “Now with the P.O.P program I'm happy to say it has improved some what.”

Ricca’s situation is typical of Peoria’s crime problem. Residents that have been living in the same area of town for a great length of time have seen the surrounding housing situation change dramatically.

Neighborhoods that were once filled with houses now consist of subsidized apartments. In turn, neighborhoods often fall into disrepair, which often breeds a high level of crime.

To counteract this, the Neighborhood Policing Program also works to improve citizen’s quality of life. According to Anne Ruggles, officers often help to clean up their assigned neighborhoods on their own time and help to set up neighborhood clean up days.

“If residents see [officers] doing it, they will help too,” she added. Around Christmas time officers work with local charities like Cops 4 Kids to get presents for children in need, further strengthening the bond between the police and the people they protect.

But one of difficulties that the Neighborhood Policing Project faces is how crime moves. Once a P.O.P. team moves into an area to lower crime, it inevitably moves to another area. Lt. Baer commented that “Crime is never completely dealt with, it’s always displaced.” Jack Baize agreed, saying, “They’ll just pick up their operation and move it to another location.”

Some of the presidents of Peoria’s Resident Associations offered suggestions to both the city and to its citizens. Jeanette Luschen, president of Sunset Hills Neighborhood Association suggested an expansion of the project.

“A P.O.P. program that includes the entire City would be the optimum, but I understand the City budget constraints, she said in an email, “A police advisory committee consisting of representatives from all existing neighborhood associations would be the next best solution.”

Jerry D. Jackson, president of the Uplands Residential Association asserted that a communal approach would work best: “We must all take responsibility for our own safety and security first. We are all part of a community, with the responsibility to look out for each other.”

posted by Steve at 1:23 AM