RESIDENTS SAY ANTI-CRIME INITIATIVE IS MAKING DIFFERENCE

HIGH POINT - Residents of the Daniel Brooks Homes area will need to work
together with police to ensure the continued success of a recent anti-drug
strategy there.

That was the message from Police Chief Jim Fealy at a recent meeting to
review the first six weeks of the Daniel Brooks Initiative, begun April 5.

"We've only done the heavy lifting and it's just getting started," Fealy
told about 30 residents at the True Standard Holiness Church last week.
"What you do from here on out is the most important thing."

While police say it's too early for a statistical analysis of the drop in
crime, they say testimonials from officers and residents are enough to
convince them of the success.

Several residents supported that view Wednesday night, telling police they
see less loitering and open-air drug sales throughout the public housing
development.

Among the attendees was a 51-year-old woman who had been targeted by police
as a drug suspect. She apologized to the group and vowed she had turned her
life around.

The initiative aims at providing a focused response to addressing drug dealing.

Rather than raid the entire neighborhood, police instead focus on the
handful of drug dealers they say drive the street-level trade, while
indirectly fueling associated activity such as violence, prostitution and
other crime.

Nine suspects were confronted by police and community activists April 5.

They were told that police might already have evidence against them that
could land them in jail and were offered help finding legitimate jobs or
new places to live if they agreed to stop dealing.

If they refused, the officers promised swift prosecution and the stiffest
penalties available. Since the call-in, only one of the nine had been
arrested on drug charges.