Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501240008
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When it's time for the officers from the community oriented policing team to walk through the public housing project, Travis rides out on his black Huffy bike from one of the side streets. Fascinated by the gear they carry on their belts, he pulls a flashlight from the hands of Officer Eric Charles.
"I want to be a fireman or a cop. Which one do you think I ought to be?" Travis asks.
"A policeman," Charles answers. "You gonna stay out of trouble?"
"Yeah," Travis says and rides off.
In Hunt Manor, Hurt Park, Indian Rock Village, Jamestown Place and Lincoln Terrace, COPE has become familiar. Each day, the white van, often with mountain-biking patrol in tow, tours these public housing units - areas once frequented by crack dealers.
"When an officer is just answering call after call, people didn't get that trust," said former COPE Lt. Steve Wills, who helped form the team four years ago. "We have officers who really care about the areas they're in. And that's why it's working."
During a daytime cruise of the public housing neighborhoods, Wills points to COPE successes, such as an overgrown lot in Hunt Manor that used to be a gathering and hiding spot for drug dealers. As officers cleaned it up, they found a basketball court that officers, with help from the city, have since refurbished.
In Hurt Park, the Pits - square, bricked-in areas used for hanging laundry - are popular spots for gambling and drug use. COPE is working with the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority to tear them down.
"It gives you a sense of pride to see a project through to completion," Wills said, parking the COPE van in one of the projects, a tub of bubble gum beside him, a crowd of children clamoring outside the van's window.
In 1991, the COPE unit first walked the labyrinth-like streets of Lincoln Terrace and Hurt Park in Northwest Roanoke in the hopes of presenting a show of force and creating better rapport with residents. The team has since doubled from eight to 16 officers.
"It's not hurting citizens to find out we're human," said Sgt. Butch Steahly. "It's getting us back in touch with the people."
Many in the community praise the officers for the message they've brought to their neighborhood.
"COPE brought fear to the area - they've gotten the message as far as drugs that they won't be allowed to stand on the corner and sell them," said Shirley Eley, who has lived in Jamestown Place in Southeast Roanoke for 16 years. "In my section of town, the crime rate is down. The majority of people who did the crimes are in jail."
Cynthia Johnson, a resident of Brightwood Manor, a privately owned low-income housing complex, remembers when coming home meant preparing for a war. At night, the popping sound of gunshots roused her from sleep and sent her running to pull her sons from their beds and onto the floor.
Those images are all memories now, she said.
Eating her lunch under a tree, she talked about the reticence of neighbors to get involved and the occasional drug dealing she still sees. Her lunchmate, David Jennings, said the answer to the crime problem is simple - activism.
"Crime affects everyone," Jennings said. "If more did care, it'd be a whole lot better and COPE could do better. If everybody joined together and said we don't want it in our community, it would stop."
by CNB