news-record.com

An armed gang walking through a neighborhood would alarm most people -- unless the gang members were dressed in police uniforms.

So seeing 40 cops one evening last week might have been reassuring for residents of Greensboro's Ardmore Park area, which has been troubled by home and business break-ins and one murder in the last few months.

"The community has had enough, and we've had enough," police Capt. Richard Whisenant said as officers visited residents who live a little north of Interstate 40 between South Holden and High Point roads.

A canvass by a few dozen men and women in blue isn't going to drive out criminals, but it can help in a couple of ways.

One is by letting residents know that police are aware of problems, they care, and they're prepared to respond. That alone can be a deterrent to crime.

The other is to make personal connections. Police can't visit every home in Greensboro, but knocking on a lot of doors in one evening can have an impact. It allows officers to introduce themselves as individuals and ask directly, face to face, for assistance.

The key to solving crimes usually can be found in the neighborhoods where it occurs. People see and hear things but sometimes don't say anything. Silence provides as much cover for criminals as a moonless night and a broken porch light. Police need residents to speak out.

"Even if it's a rumor, it's still worthwhile for us to hear it," Capt. Mike Richey said.

Misinformation about innocent people isn't really what police want. But encouraging people to report well-founded suspicions is important.

Will residents respond to the invitation? That is more likely to happen if they trust police to check out tips and protect the identity of the informant. The GPD's motto is "Building trust in our communities." Toward that goal it supports neighborhood watch organizations and has outreach initiatives, community resource officers, an award-winning National Night Out program and a communications staff that's quick to issue information about crime and police activities. Police teaming up with barbers for a haircuts-and-conversation event on MLK Day generated some buzz. That's all to the good. Yet, there are still gaps: times when residents think police are not responsive enough and times when someone's fear, distrust or indifference may keep police from learning critical information about a crime.

Breaking through those barriers will promote safer, healthier communities. Police made important strides -- literally -- in the Ardmore Park area last week. Their not-so-thin blue line wound through neighborhoods where criminals have worked too freely lately but need to learn what it means when the community and the police have had enough.

What kind of gangs do residents want in their neighborhoods? The criminal kind or the police kind? It's an easy call.