THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 26, 1996 TAG: 9609240159
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 171 lines
DON'T PICTURE ``the letter of the law'' as a big P for protection of law-abiding citizens.
Instead, think of an S - think of lots of S's - that interlock and slip to knot quick as greased pig tails, tying the hands of police officers behind their backs.
Walter Dickerson had that - and a lot more - to learn.
For months, he had peeked out an upstairs window of his Coronado home while drug deals went down in broad daylight at the house across the street.
He had seen so much, he probably could've gone into business for himself, was he of a mind to.
Dickerson was sure he had all of his ducks in a row when he turned to police. He was sure a cruiser soon would be on its way.
It would be 18 months before Norfolk detectives busted the place - three long months of uneasiness before the trial, the accused out on bail and Dickerson unsure whether his neighbor suspected the important part he had played in cracking the case - then, long, tense days before they hauled the guy off to prison.
During the firsthand primer course he inadvertently signed up for that day when he approached police about his neighbor, Dickerson also would learn the true meaning of irony - the irony of laws that often seem to protect criminals in the name of the U.S. Constitution.
It appeared that the same document that guaranteed Dickerson freedom from oppression also made his neighborhood an unsafe place.
But he would discover that concerned citizens can take an active role in making their own little corner of the world a better place to be.
When all of the ducks finally were in a row - when the tangled squiggles of letters finally were unlooped - Dickerson learned that democracy is an open book inviting the signatures of all who wish to participate.
For this, reading and writing is essential.
So is a crash course in how to untie knots.
Police were able to nab Dickerson's neighbor because they knew just how the house was laid out. They also had a detailed log of visitors, right down to their license-plate numbers.
Police had all this - and more - because Dickerson gave it to them.
He was one of 57 Second Precinct Gold Sector citizens who graduated earlier this month from the Citizens' Academy, a six-week course that aims to help folks understand the laws that govern, police behavior and how they can help police officers nibble away at crime in their communities.
Dickerson and his classmates comprised the second wave of graduates in the project reinstituted by Norfolk police in July.
Training for First Precinct Red Sector enrollees began this week, and plans are afoot for a graduate course for those who already have their diplomas.
It's a Norfolk police initiative that has been emulated in the surrounding cities of Virginia Beach, Portsmouth and Chesapeake.
``I'm going to ride that wave 'til it hits the beach, then I'm going to grab another one,'' said Judy Hash, a Second Precinct Police Assisted Community Enforcement (PACE) officer who helps coordinate and instruct the Citizens' Academy. ``It's exciting to be a part of it, especially for someone like me who wants to make a difference.''
Already, Hash and her fellow Norfolk PACE officers are planning for future courses.
Next, she said, are problem-solving sessions ``for folks who want to access environmental services and human services - who's responsible for what, how to lodge complaints, how to form effective partnerships'' with systems in place.
The final session for Gold Sector students that took place earlier this month was a glimpse into the sinister world of illicit drugs - everything a citizen would want to know about narcotics but didn't know whom to ask.
Such citizens could have asked Keith Ballard, a Second Precinct narcotics officer. These are excerpts and extrapolations from Ballard's lecture:
Think that tall plant in your neighbor's garden is just an overgrown, overlooked weed? Take a closer look.
Does it have spade-shaped leaves? Stand about 8 feet tall? Might be marijuana. But wait. Don't jump to conclusions. There's a Japanese plant popular with gardeners that looks much the same.
Does your teen-ager sometimes look stupid (no? never?), sleepy, have bloodshot eyes, an unusually voracious appetite? Does he or she smell like burnt rope? Might just be toking on reefer, weed, joints - slang terms for the crushed leaf of the hemp plant that's a popular recreational drug for teens.
Watch out for those batches of brownies or cookies baked up by your kid, who's otherwise a stranger to the kitchen. And marijuana may look like oregano, but it's a secret ingredient you definitely don't want sprinkled into your spaghetti sauce. The kick surpasses Paul Newman's wildest gastronomic dreams.
While marijuana is illegal because of the hallucinogenic effects of the THC its leaves and seeds contain, it does have some legal and good purposes, among them, rope and oils that are used in bird seed, Ballard said. ``That's why the birds are always singing,'' he quipped.
Ever wonder about that sixth sense cops seem to have when dealing with drug users and peddlers? Might be that hunk of steel wool, the length of straightened clothes hanger or the tiny round screen the suspect produced when told to empty his or her pockets. All are items typically used by crack cocaine addicts.
Drugs were just one of a number of subjects Citizens' Academy students learned about. They also visited 911 headquarters, and it was this aspect of the training that Bev Sell found most enlightening.
``It was fascinating to see,'' she said. ``To see how it works. I figured someone was sitting alone in a room, but the equipment, the trained professionals . . . it was reassuring.''
Sell, who lives in the Estabrook neighborhood, said that beyond the training, she appreciated the opportunity to get to know her fellow citizens:
``I picked up some good tips, but the camaraderie was just as good as the information - a bonus.''
It's neighborhood that matters, when you come right down to it, said Sell, who grew up in Portsmouth. ``I met my neighbors. Neighborhood is near and dear to me, and I'm always wanting to go back. We need to plan to spend more time with neighbors.''
Norfolk's chief of police, Melvin High, told Gold Sector graduates:
``We need you and the information you can provide.''
High said that community police that began a decade ago has taken a huge bite out of crime in Norfolk - to the tune of some 7,000 fewer victims of crime last year than five years earlier. This year, he said, it looks like there'll be thousands fewer yet.
Norfolk's detective division is ``one of the best in the nation,'' High said. ``The average department in America will solve 60 percent'' of its cases by the end of this year. If it's anything like last year, we'll solve 98 to 99 percent.
``We can see from the data of the late '70s and '80s that we have made progress. All across America, it's not a myth - we've gotten safer.''
He likened citizen involvement in neighborhood projects such as block watches to this nation's Western posse tradition.
High said that in this country's beginning, people engaged in their communities to make them safer places, especially in the West ... the posses. He said in a place the size of Chesapeake, for example, the sheriff could raise a posse with no trouble.
High said:
``Let's get back to that concept - the days of the wild west'' but in a more civilized way.
High honed in on television as a prime cause of social ills, charging, ``Our kids didn't know how to buy drugs before the TV shows of the '70s and '80s.''
He cited TV shows such as ``Miami Vice'' that he said showed kids ``how to buy and ask for drugs.''
``There are 1,001 ways for citizens to be involved,'' High said. ``If each chooses one plus, we'll have an absolutely safe city. From nosy neighbor to patrols, it makes a statement about the value you put on your community.
``We don't want you to be police officers but think that with training, you will be better at what you can do safely, understand what we're up against, learn to have patience and understand that 110 percent of our resources are given to you.''
Now that Walter Dickerson has more insight into what police officers can't do, his understanding of what they can do has changed. He says that he notices, now how much time officers spend doing the little things that really make a difference in his community.
``Kids hanging out in front of a store, well, the police can't do anything about it, but - and it's just a little thing,'' when the cops stop and talk with the youths, let them know they're there. And a new police initiative to redirect truant youths is really working, Dickerson says.
Walter Dickerson knows. He has been watching. ILLUSTRATION: Color cover photo by Gary C. Knapp
[Walter Dickerson...]
Photos, including the cover, by GARY C. KNAPP
Gary Smallwood, left, and James McNancy of the Coleman Place
community, listen to a lecture by Norfolk police officer K.C.
Ballard. They are sitting beside a display of weapons taken away
from kids.
For months, Walter Dickerson had peeked out a window of his Coronado
home while drug deals went down in daylight at the house across the
street.
Rosa Nimmo, left, and her daughter Joy listen to a police lecture.
Nimmo's son also took the course.
KEYWORDS: CITIZEN CRIMEWATCH by CNB