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- Return of the Neighborhood Beat Cop
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- Ben Markus
In response to rising crime rates, police departments nationwide are going back to basics, combining traditional patrol methods with an earlier "beat cop" approach.
In Sacramento's Phoenix Park housing project the police faced quite a challenge. Even though the neighborhood was mired by gangs and drugs, they made an immediate, and lasting, impact on the shockingly violent project.
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Piece Description
In response to rising crime rates, police departments nationwide are going back to basics, combining traditional patrol methods with an earlier "beat cop" approach. In Sacramento's Phoenix Park housing project the police faced quite a challenge. Even though the neighborhood was mired by gangs and drugs, they made an immediate, and lasting, impact on the shockingly violent project.
Broadcast History
Aired August 31st 2006 on KXJZ (Sacramento, CA) during Morning Edition.
Transcript
Phoenix Park, formerly known as Franklin Villa, is a maze of pastel-colored fourplexes and brick townhouses. Two years ago this south Sacramento housing project was the most dangerous neighborhood in the city.
"Oh, this was really rough in the summer in here, it used to be really rough."
Sergeant Greg Smyth is the lead Problem Oriented Policing, or POP officer in Phoenix Park. He commands a group of four officers whose sole duty is to patrol this one-mile by one-mile housing project, where some five thousand people reside. Today, he's walking his beat through the once feared streets, something unheard of two years ago.
"I remember when I was a new officer I'd come in here and it wasn't uncommon to see somebody, you know, come in here on a murder, layin' on the yard dead. The older officers say, 'Hey, this is really bad, this is rough.' And pretty soon it was well known thro...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
Host Intro (:15)
In response to rising crime rates, police departments nationwide are going back to basics, combining traditional patrol methods with an earlier "beat cop" approach. Ben Markus reports on one south Sacramento neighborhood transformed by the process.
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Tanya Ott
Posted on July 10, 2007 at 05:04 AM | Permalink
Review of Return of the Neighborhood Beat Cop
This sound-rich feature covers all the bases. The reporter does a nice job with scene-setting, while still imparting the factual information in a conversation tone. Well done!