Tuesday, May 15, 2007 by Denise Walsh

Police presence decreases crime in business district

Strengthening the relationship between Greenville police and business owners has been helpful

This article first appeared in The Daily Reflector on May 9, 2007 following the May Membership meeting

by Cassondra Lampkin, The Daily Reflector

There's a different vibe in downtown Greenville and it is due to a greater police presence.

Uptown Greenville, an organization charged with upgrading the area around Reade and Washington streets, wants people to dismiss the stereotype of downtown Greenville being a high-crime area.

During a Tuesday Uptown Greenville meeting with Greenville Police Chief William Anderson, testimonies about the progress were shared.

Anderson said when he first arrived in Greenville people thought downtown was filled with overcrowded bars, underage drinking, fights, robberies and sexual assaults.

Crime has decreased since police increased their preence in the area and met with bar owners. "The crime is down. Communication is effective so we can address it from a proactive perspective," he said.

Strengthening th erelationship between greenville police and business owners has been helpful, Anderson said. The idea of hiring off-duty police officers wasn't embraced by bar owners or the police department at first, he said. "When I first came here (many downtown bars) didn't want us inside," Anderson said. since then Anderson has promoted more communication iwth businesses. Now officers assist with training bouncers and reviewing security procedures, he said.

Greenville police also encourage businesses to install more exterior lighting and explain to owners how they could lose their business license, he said.

Other downtown businesses also have police officers regularly walk through their locations.

Greenville Police get to know the people of the downtown area and aren't seen as just "the a negative view of the authority figure," said Candace Pearce of Dulcinea an art and accessories store on Washington Street. "It's great, they just walk through like regular customers," Pearce said.

Cassondra Lampkin can be reached at 252.329.9571.