THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608140332
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 70 lines
Residents of some of the city's toughest neighborhoods are learning how to take a bite out of crime.
On Tuesday, the second day of a two-day seminar on community policing, 65 people from Norfolk's public housing communities prepared to start walking the streets to prevent crime.
The sessions were put on by the Virginia Crime Prevention Association and city police. More than a third of the participants live in Young Terrace, the site of the seminar and the neighborhood where the citizen patrols will be launched in September.
Although some other neighborhoods already have community policing in place, the Young Terrace project is a pilot for the city's eight public housing communities.
Residents have the task of thwarting crime by redirecting youth into positive activities. But they'll also react when they see crimes taking place, by phoning police on cellular phones. The phones, which dial 911 only, were donated by a communications company, and the service will be paid for with federal crime prevention grant money.
Police Officer A. Pittman, who works in the Grandy Village neighborhood, had a tip for the would-be crime stoppers Tuesday.
When reporting a crime, ``To keep your neighbors from complaining about harassment from police, give an accurate description - not just, `two black males,' '' said Pittman. ``We get there and there's 50 or 60 black males.''
Patrick Harris, trainer for Virginia Crime Prevention Association, gave more specifics on the program.
``We teach them how to work with police . . . how to observe things that affect safety,'' Harris said. These include strange cars, lighting problems, shrubbery and high walls where criminals can hide.
Phillip Ellick, a 34-year-old Young Terrace resident, said he felt better able to make a difference in his neighborhood after attending the training session.
``All can get together to work out problems like crime, drugs, vandalism,'' said Ellick, a single father of two and security officer for city schools.
Karen Cox, 28, a single mother of one who works part time for the city, said she'd learned a lot about the problems facing her Young Terrace neighborhood.
``I didn't know we had that gang thing,'' Cox said. ``Didn't know kids hung out on the corners. We're supposed to get them involved. They don't have anything to do, that's the problem.''
Herman Springs, security program manager for Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, said the project aims to teach folks ``how to take communities back from the people who control them right now - the criminals.'' ILLUSTRATION: COMMUNITY POLICING
GARY C. KNAPP
Norfolk police officer A.C. Smith talks with representatives from
Young Terrace in Norfolk about community policing.
How it works:
Residents in Young Terrace will help fight crime by:
Redirecting youth into positive activities.
Calling police when they see crimes occurring, using cellular
phones that only dial 911.
Reporting suspects accurately. Give a complete description; don't
just identify race and gender.
Identifying strange cars, lighting problems, and shrubbery and
high walls where criminals can hide.
GARY C. KNAPP
Norfolk police officer A. Pittman speaks to a class of volunteers
about policing their neighborhood.
KEYWORDS: COMMUNITY POLICING by CNB