THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 20, 1995 TAG: 9508180177
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER C. O'DONNELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Soon seven additional police officers will be patrolling the streets of Chesapeake, thanks to the federal Crime Bill.
The Chesapeake Police Department was chosen earlier this month to receive a $510,662 grant from the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services, Accelerated Hiring, Education and Deployment (COPS AHEAD) program.
COPS AHEAD provides grants to local and state law enforcement agencies that serve populations of 50,000 and over. The grant covers 75 percent of the total salary and benefits of each officer hired for three years, up to a maximum of $75,000 per officer.
Chesapeake was one of 12 police and sheriffs' departments nationwide to receive the grant, which is a part of the federal Crime Bill.
In anticipation of receiving the grant, the police department hired seven additional police officers last spring. The recruits are expected to graduate from the police academy later this month. The new officers will take the place of seven veteran police officers who have been tapped to move to the community policing division of the department later this year, doubling the number of officers in that division to 14.
The additional funds will be put to good use, said 1st Sgt. Gary McClenney, community policing team supervisor.
``Public response for the community policing program has been overwhelming,'' said McClenney. ``We've had a great deal of positive feedback from residents, especially in South Norfolk, where we have been patrolling since June. They say the increased police presence is changing the neighborhoods for the better.''
The community policing program targets neighborhoods with a need for increased coverage and matches officers to those neighborhoods.
``We survey the residents to determine where the problems are,'' said McClenney. The officers patrol the neighborhoods by car, bike and foot and are asked to attend civic events and meetings to better know the residents.
``We also have a Walk-and-Knock program, where the police just go from house to house to help build a close relationship with the people,'' he added.
``Basically, community policing is just a matter of getting back to the old way of policing,'' McClenney said.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE POLICE FEDERAL GRANT by CNB