POLICE GIVE DRUG SUSPECTS 2ND CHANCE

HIGH POINT -- Darius Johnson, surrounded by eight others who police
say sold drugs on the streets of the Daniel Brooks neighborhood,
leaned forward in his seat as he heard the message.

"Tonight is the decision point in your lives, a big decision point. We
can take you at any time," police Chief Jim Fealy told the group.

On Tuesday, the group of nine accused dealers was called to police
headquarters for an intervention-style meeting that was eight months
in the making. It concluded months of undercover work by High Point
police, in which cases ready for prosecution were built against
Johnson and the others.

But instead of being arrested, members of the group were given a
second chance to find a job and get out of the drug business.

"Daniel Brooks is off limits for drugs. Anyone have any questions
about that?" asked Rob Lang, assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle
District of North Carolina. "We can pick you up tonight if you're back
out on the corner."

As the 23-year-old Johnson heard the message, he said to himself: "I
got a family. I can't be doing this."

For police, offering the group a second chance is part of a larger
strategy that involves building closer ties with the rest of Daniel
Brooks' residents, whom officers hope will become more active in
reporting crime.

During the meeting, the group of accused dealers heard from family
members, civic activists and church leaders who said they were tired
of having drugs in the neighborhood and all the violence that comes
with it.

"Why not change sides? Take another perspective on life," said the
Rev. Calvin Shaw of Mount Zion Baptist Church, a congregation that
serves Daniel Brooks.

In Daniel Brooks, a public housing community near High Point
University, police spent hundreds of hours researching the
neighborhood's drug culture. The methodical approach, which involves
undercover surveillance stings, is a new way of confronting
street-level drug crimes.

Traditionally, neighborhood sweeps were the common police tactic. But
such tactics sometimes work against police by fostering neighborhood
resentment against law enforcement, Fealy said.

The decision to crack down on drug dealing in Daniel Brooks began
shortly after a meeting in August when police reviewed a crime map of
the city, which revealed that Daniel Brooks had emerged as High
Point's new hot spot for crime.

About a year earlier, the trouble spot was the West End area. But a
police crackdown on dealers there -- similar to what's being done in
Daniel Brooks -- galvanized the West End community, making it a
difficult place for dealers to do business, police said. Police hope
to equal that success in Daniel Brooks.

Levander Perkins -- Johnson's father -- couldn't believe it when
police told him his son wasn't going to face prosecution.

"I actually think they're blessed. The average man wouldn't get a
second chance like this," he said.

Johnson said the next step for him is finding a job.

"Anything I can do, I'll do it," he said.