By Sonja Elmquist
The News & Record
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Police are planning to descend on a high-crime neighborhood next week, but their goal isn’t to lock anybody up.
Officers will accompany representatives of city departments and substance abuse and homelessness service providers to offer help to residents living on south Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. This is the first of a series events planned for the summer.
The goal of the “Walks Against Crime” is to remind neighborhood residents that city and human service organizations are available to help them, said Anne Gregory, the police department’s community affairs director.
“If you’re not aware of what resources are available to you, you might become frustrated and give up hope,” Gregory said.
Workers from the city’s Department of Transportation will look at lighting issues, and parks and recreation workers will examine playground equipment, Gregory said. City zoning, code enforcement and local ordinance workers will identify solutions in their areas, and the Guilford County Substance Abuse Coalition will distribute information about its services.
Beth McKee-Huger, executive director of the Greensboro Housing Coalition, said she would participate and talk to anyone who has questions about housing, including how to get a place to live, how to get housing repaired and how to keep from losing housing.
“We work closely with neighborhoods that are trying to improve conditions in their neighborhood,” McKee-Huger said.
Greensboro police Chief Tim Bellamy organized the “Walks Against Crime” to prevent crime by helping people with problems that are beyond the police department’s ability to fix, he said.
“What we’re looking for is to get the community involved in their own community,” Bellamy said.
Friday’s walk will begin at 6 p.m. at 414 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and end at Florida Street. The neighborhoods - Arlington Park, East Bessemer Street and the area near Claremont Courts - were chosen because they have visible crime problems such as drug sales and prostitution. But the focus of the sweep isn’t law enforcement.
“This is not a dragnet to go out and arrest people,” Bellamy said. “This is a community-awareness program.”
“We’re just trying to make it easier for people to get what they need,” said George Coates of the Substance Abuse Coalition. “Any time you put information in people’s hands, it can make a difference.”
Copyright 2008 The News & Record