TO HELP A NEIGHBORHOOD

There's no doubt the police in Durham acted aggressively when they
conducted a sweep last month of the Cheek Road Apartments. The campaign,
after all, came under the umbrella of TAPS, or The Aggressive Police
Strategy. Critics of the operation, which resulted in several drug and
traffic arrests and three weapons seizures, say officers were abusive. But
unless solid evidence surfaces that officers violated residents'
constitutional rights, the department has nothing for which to apologize.

Actually, police officers assigned to the Cheek Road area asked their
higher-ups for help in the face of ongoing problems at the 100-unit
apartment complex. Residents themselves have complained about shootings and
drug sales. The raid, which involved more than 100 officers from Durham,
the State Bureau of Investigation and other agencies, included apartment
searches and traffic stops.

Mayor Bill Bell was present during the sweep, and said officers acted
properly. Police have opened an Internal Affairs investigation of the
allegations of abuse. The investigation itself ought to be aggressive, and
the results should be shared with the public.

But acting Police Chief Steve Chalmers aptly described the operation when
he called it a "rescue." Neighborhoods held in the grip of crime are in the
grip of misery. In many respects they need rescuing.

Parts of East Durham, where the TAPS campaign was carried out, are dotted
with too many such places. It's satisfying to hear Chalmers say that more
campaigns are on the way, and that the police will follow up at Cheek Road
Apartments. Ongoing, high-profile police patrols and services to fight drug
addiction, poverty and illiteracy can treat ills afflicting neighborhoods
where decent people rightly expect to live in safety.