THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 3, 1995 TAG: 9507030028
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
The numbers 911 soon will mean more in Portsmouth than a panic-stricken call to police from a crime victim.
By the end of this month, the Police Department will become the first in Hampton Roads to use 911 to alert citizens to crime threats.
Called Reverse 911, the $35,000 computerized system will allow police - with the push of a button - to warn individuals or entire neighborhoods of danger.
The system is one of three parts of a community policing initiative designed make Portsmouth a safer city by improving communication between citizens and their police force.
Using Reverse 911, police will be able to send out by telephone a recorded message that a rapist, a burglar or a car thief is in the neighborhood.
The system will free police from depending on word of mouth, or the media, to communicate a warning. Through a specialized computer program, individual homes and businesses, or groups of homes and businesses, will be reached quickly by telephone.
Officers will no longer have to go door-to-door with warnings, or slowly distribute fliers in a neighborhood, explained Portsmouth Police Chief Dennis A. Mook.
``For instance, if there is a burglary problem (in a neighborhood), instead of five or 10 people knowing . . . you will have 500 knowing,'' Mook said.
But the system, which Hampton police also are considering, can do more than route calls to geographic areas. The computer software also enables police to target specific types of businesses or homeowners.
For instance, if someone were forging prescriptions, police could generate a list of pharmacies in the city. Within minutes, these businesses could be told about the problem.
Mook said the new system is being paid for with part of a $75,000 grant from the Department of Criminal Justice Services.
Reverse 911 fits neatly into the city's community policing initiative, under development for more than a year. Community policing will get a full-fledged kickoff this month when 16 new police officers go on the street.
Beginning July 24, these problem-solving officers will be dispatched to the city's nine geographical areas. They will be called neighborhood impact officers, but in reality they will serve as ``mini police chiefs,'' Mook said.
``Every citizen will know the name of one or two officers who can be called to help solve problems,'' Mook said. ``This way we can attack problems on a personal level and we can personalize the police services.''
A third element of community policing in Portsmouth, Mook said, involves a committee of business people and community leaders. That group will meet once a month to help police solve difficult problems.
That is a way down the road, Mook said, highlighting an element of community policing that is sometimes lost: implementing it is slow and steady, not quick and easy.
Police won't just flip a switch and change the way they work, Mook said. For instance, it will take 24 months before all the neighborhood impact officers are fully engaged.
``This is a living, breathing program that is going to change and evolve,'' Mook said. ``It will be very organic and will change with the environment. But we have a lot of high hopes. I haven't seen anything as exciting as this in my 21 years in police work.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color staff graphic by John Earle
Community Policing in Portsmouth
For copy of graphic, see microfilm
KEYWORDS: 911 PORTSMOUTH POLICE DEPARTMENT by CNB