CRIME RATE DOWNPLAYED

The crime rate in Fayetteville may be up from last year, but a landlord in
Bonnie Doone couldn't be more pleased with the police response to an area
long known for crime, especially drug activity.

"I have noticed a real concentrated effort on behalf of the police
department to really work this area and make their presence known," said
Gail Martin, who owns about 50 apartments and eight homes in Bonnie Doone.
"I noticed yesterday the police patrolling the area five or six different
times."

Police Chief Tom McCarthy said officers had already begun targeting
specific areas of the city -- including Bonnie Doone -- before the Attorney
General's Office released statewide crime figures on Monday.

Those figures showed the 2000 murder rate nearly doubled in Fayetteville
from 1999 and property crimes increased from 7,521 to 8,531.

McCarthy doesn't want residents to panic because crime in the city is up
from a year ago.

"You're looking at a snap shot in time when you look at one year," he said.
"It's better to look at a 10-year trend."

In a city of Fayetteville's size, it does not take much to show an increase
or a decrease in crime, according to McCarthy.

He said crime statistics can also be misleading.

"Sometimes it means more people are reporting crime or are doing a better
job of reporting crime," he said. "When you focus more on apprehending
folks and reporting crime, (the crime rate) goes up before it goes down."

He said a very small percentage of people are responsible for committing
the majority of crimes.

"We want to make sure we're looking at people and not just cases," McCarthy
said. "There are lots of repeat offenders."

City Councilman Mark Kendrick said residents welcome McCarthy's aggressive
stance on cleaning up street crime.

"He is very much focused on that," Kendrick said. "People want more
neighborhood policing and our chief is very well known for that. I met with
the Community Watch Council and they were enthusiastic about the chief's
ideas."

McCarthy said crime had been decreasing in Fayetteville in recent years so
when it rises one year, it makes it appear, inaccurately, as if it is a
dramatic increase.

Fayetteville police command staff targeted Bonnie Doone, Massey Hill,
Jasper Street and the restaurant row area on McPherson Church Road as areas
that needed a strong police presence in an effort to reduce crime and
enforce traffic laws, according to McCarthy.

McPherson Church Road has had its fair share of armed robberies and traffic
accidents, he said, and the other three neighborhoods are plagued with drug
problems, break-ins and shootings. There have already been more traffic
fatalities in 2001 than all of last year, according to McCarthy.

Capt. Brad Chandler, commander of the Department's Cross Creek District,
said street-level drug activity is what led his officers to the Galveston
Drive area of Bonnie Doone.

"Our philosophy is drugs are the root of crimes against people and
property," he said. "If you get the street dealer off the street and keep
him incarcerated, it will help the overall crime rate."

Chandler said he assigned a lieutenant to the Galveston Drive area and "hit
it hard on all squads, on all shifts."

The Narcotics Unit arrested four of the biggest dealers in Bonnie Doone
resulting in a noticeable difference in the neighborhood's atmosphere, at
least according to Martin.

She said the police presence has helped her rent more apartments and put
her residents' minds at ease.

"This is a very tough area," she said. "I can see they are making a
difference."