DRUGS, CRIME RILE RESIDENTS

Neighbors Call for More Police Assistance

Many residents in the historic Elizabeth Starr District are concerned
about prostitution, drugs and noise in their neighborhood.

So are the Richmond Police.

So police and neighbors got together last week to discuss ways of
cooperating to eliminate the problems.

The three problems are connected and illegal drugs are the root
problem.

"You're never going to get rid of drug dealing entirely," Police Chief
Kris Wolski said.

But the persistence of the problems is causing irritation among the
neighbors.

"When we see the same things happening year after year, we think
nothing is being done," neighborhood association leader Kyle Hart said.

But Chief Wolski pointed out, "The area we're targeting is your
neighborhood."

The problems go beyond police enforcement. Other city officials were
on hand to discuss ways of attacking the problem ranging from building
code enforcement to new fix-up programs.

"The criminal element does not thrive in a nice clean neighborhood
that's well kept and (in) well order," Assistant Police Chief Mark
Connery said.

The Elizabeth Starr Neighborhood Association district stretches
roughly from North Ninth to North 16th streets between East Main and
North E streets. It is at the historic center of Richmond, filled with
large homes from another era.

"This neighborhood is an asset to the community," resident Greg Barton
said.

Enforcement of code violations and emphasis on landlords doing
background checks are a key component of the solution, neighbors and
police agreed.

Richmond Mayor Sally Hutton, who attended the meeting that drew about
50 people, pointed out, "We've been working together on community
policing for some time."

The objective of community police puts officers on the street and in
touch with the neighborhoods.

Hutton and the police spoke of a new program called weed-and-seed they
are trying to develop for crime-riddled neighborhoods too.

"Can't the city do more with slum code violations?" Barton
asked.

The answer was "yes," but the frustration of enforcing citations with
minimal fines isn't eliminated.

There are myriad little problems that might help the situation. Barton
asked about a bank of pay phones at 13th and East Main streets that
become a center of illegal activity.

"We're looking into that," Wolski said.

Some at the meeting called for more patrol officers in the area.
Wolksi pointed out that with 80 officers, Richmond already has a much
higher officer-to-resident ratio than most towns and cities.

But even with the higher ratio, there are staffing
limits.

A typical patrol shift will have only five or six officers on the
streets at any given time.

"We (on a shift) may take 150 calls a night," said Officer Pat Tudor,
who "rides" the Starr district.

Patrol efforts are reinforced by other units, such as the undercover
special investigations units, well suited for breaking up both drug
and prostitution activities.

They have targeted prostitution in recent months. Wolski pointed to
three prostitution arrests and to soliciting arrests. But those are
misdemeanors and neighbors are angered that the people arrested are
often back in the area within hours.

Police and city officials are eager to work with homeowners and
landlords to clean up the area. More meetings and more communication
have been promised.

But the problem won't go away. "All we can do is get them out of your
neighborhood," Connery said.