Event emphasizes partnership between communities and police

Leslie Morales, left, pours bubble fluid into a container for Theodore Sanders, 3, to dip in Tuesday on the lot at 1885 in St. Elmo during the National Night Out observation.
Leslie Morales, left, pours bubble fluid into a container for Theodore Sanders, 3, to dip in Tuesday on the lot at 1885 in St. Elmo during the National Night Out observation.

When Sgt. Wayne Jefferson joined the Chattanooga police force 20 years ago, he remembers Highland Park being one of the worst neighborhoods in the city.

But crime dropped in the area, several people said, because of a stronger relationship between the community and the police force.

"Criminals are bullies," Jefferson said. "And the neighborhood watch group doesn't back down."

Across the nation, thousands of residents participated in National Night Out on Tuesday. The goal was to integrate the police force into the community, and vice versa.

In Chattanooga, residents, politicians and police officers said forming that relationship is vital. If the neighborhood lets the police know when crime is happening, it's easier to catch the criminals.

photo Olivia Mayes, left, 10, Jadelynn Creech, 6, and Millie Cross, 9, paint pumpkins in St. Elmo during the National Night Out observation on Tuesday.

Olga de Klein has lived in Highland Park for 10 years. Originally from Amsterdam, the current safety chairwoman of Highland Park Neighborhood Association said the biggest difference between southeast Tennessee and the Netherlands is the size the neighborhood. In Amsterdam, communities are defined on a street-by-street basis, but in Chattanooga a single community can contain dozens of streets.

"The community has to work together with the police department in order to have a safe area," she said. "You cannot just expect the police to do it."

At Tatum Park, which hosted the festival for Highland Park, children jumped in bouncy castles, teenagers threw a football around and several organizations pitched tents.

Mayor Andy Berke even showed up to drive home the point of the night.

"When they give intelligence to police officers, we're more likely to catch the people who committed crimes or stopped something before it happened," Berke said as the crowd devoured free Domino's pizza behind him. "When neighbors take responsibility, they let people know it's not acceptable in the community."

Across town in the St. Elmo area, a small group set up at 1885 Grill. Brad Pentiah has lived in the area for six years. During the first three years, his family's residence had about six break-ins. During the past three years, they haven't had any. He attributes the drop in crime to new residents coming in.

"In 2009, there was a lot of vacant homes through here," he said in between bites of pumpkin bread.

Amanda Yeartan, a police officer for seven years who also attended St. Elmo's gathering, said current police chief Fred Fletcher has told his force to be more integrated in the community they patrol.

"It's not just about writing tickets or arresting people," she said. "It's about being involved in the community. I think the community is working a lot better with us with helping us solve certain crimes."

Contact staff writer Evan Hoopfer at ehoopfer@timesfreepress.com or @EvanHoopfer on Twitter or 423-757-6731.

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