The project is an example of community policing, in which officers work closely with residents to prevent crime instead of just reacting to it, said Capt. Jeff Papanek of the Sheriff’s Office.
“It takes time to do this,” he said.
Sheriff's Deputy John Eversole knows it takes time. Residents have accepted Eversole, who has been on patrol there three months.
“At first, they didn’t know who I was,” he said. “If I treat them with respect, they reciprocate. I’m fair and give a warning if I can. Not a lot of them run away from me anymore. I’m getting to know every one by first name.”
The result shows what can be changed in extreme circumstances. Littering is under control, yards are tidy, parents are less wary when children are out playing, and few suspicious characters lurk around parking lots.
There’s some grumbling about certain people getting the boot by authorities, but overall, residents are pleased.
In July 2009, Dayton Metropolitan Housing Authority partnered with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office to assign two deputies exclusively for one year, replacing a private security patrol.
Northland Village manager American Apartment Management Co. Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn., sent DMHA a check for $188,150 for the extra security. The security under that agreement will be in place until at least March. After that, the contract has to be renegotiated, Papanek said.
Just a year ago, Northland Village Apartments, home to about 1,200 residents, was a very different and special place, often referred to as “Baghdad North” by police because of the violence.
In June 2009, authorities identified a Troy man as the deceased driver at the wheel of a vehicle that crashed into a building on Republic Drive. He had been shot. It was suspected he drove to Montgomery County to buy drugs at the complex. At that time, Northland had been the scene of four previous shootings involving injuries since the beginning of last year.
One of those shootings resulted in a man’s death when the shooter hopped a high fence separating Northland from an adjacent complex, shot the man there, then hopped back over the fence and into a waiting car that sped away.
Since July 2009, and the deployment of two Sheriff’s Office deputies to patrol the complex day and night, there have been no homicides. In the year prior to the stepped-up enforcement, there were 10 shootings with six people shot and wounded. In the past year, there have been two shootings with no one injured, Sheriff’s Office records show.
Deputies rotate into the two slots and have the flexibility to set their hours, basing the patrols on crime patterns. Traffic into the complex by out-of-county cars cruising for crack cocaine and heroin hook-ups has decreased sharply, said Sheriff’s Capt. Jeff Papanek.
N’Alexis Green, 14, sitting with her friend, Devon Lopez, 19, agrees the complex has gotten quieter.
Down the block, Ebony Jones, 26, and her three children ages 9 months, 2 and 8, agree d. “There’s still fighting out here, but there’s not been a lot of drug activity. I’m happy to see the sheriff’s deputies. I’m glad to see that.”
Property Manager Cindy Porter, on the job since June, has seen occupancy rise since crime has decreased. Occupancy of the 500-unit complex is at 97 percent.
“There’s most definitely less violence,” she said. “I’m not saying we’re rid of all the crime, but it’s much better than it used to be,” she said.
Satisfaction surveys among residents show improvement, she added.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7407 or sbennish@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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