Danville Police officers walked door-to-door Thursday evening in the White Rock neighborhood. More than 40 members of the department — along with City Manager Ken Larking and members of the Fire Department and Sheriff's Office — went door to door talking with neighbors.
They talked with residents about their needs and how the Police Department can make their neighborhood a safer and better place.
“We picked the White Rock neighborhood because about six weeks ago I met a young lady that lived over here,” Police Chief Scott Booth said. “She started telling me about some issues in her neighborhood. She said she would like to have us come over and do one of these walks. What she said resonated with me.”
Booth said the community walks help police to build trust in the community.
“It keeps us visible and we talk to people that sometimes would not call the police,” Booth said. “Many times, people will tell me that something happened last night, last week or last month, but ‘I did not want to bother the police department.’ That is what we are here for.
“This (walk) is a way to connect with them and find out what that issue was. It is a speeding issue. It is blighted properties in their neighborhood. It is gunfire that they are hearing at night. It is potential gang issues. We need to know about that so that we can respond to that.”
The community engagement walk was the ninth in a series planned in neighborhoods across the city. The first walk was held in February in the Cardinal Village neighborhood. Since then, walks have been held in the neighborhood surrounding G.L.H. Johnson Elementary School, the Old West End, the Woodrow Wilson school area, the Almagro neighborhood located in the Betts Street and Mabin Street areas, in the neighborhood surrounding Woodside Village Apartments, Cedarbrook and Henry Street.
