CAPE POLICE TAKE AIM AT PETTY CROOKS AND THEIR CRIMES

The Cape Girardeau Police Department's effort to make city streets safer by putting more emphasis on petty crime is getting results: Not only is it putting offenders behind bars, but it is spreading the word that police are cracking down.

Shortly after the city's new police chief, Rick Hetzel, came on board, he announced the department would take a tougher approach to misdemeanor crimes. As part of that effort, a program called Operation Safe Streets was instituted. Its results are impressive.

Since Feb. 18, 36 arrests have been made as a direct result of Operation Safe Streets. The arrests have included illegal possession of weapons, having open liquor containers on public streets, vehicle theft and traffic violations.

Apprehending drug sellers and users are a major focus of Operation Safe Streets, and already 12 arrests have been drug related. They include possession of marijuana, crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia.

By putting patrols in neighborhoods that have significant crime problems and using undercover surveillance, the department hopes to see a drop in crime in high-crime neighborhoods on the south side of the city.

The philosophy behind the emphasis on enforcement of low-level crime is that in the course of patrolling serious offenses also will be detected. And they have, as demonstrated by the number of drugs and weapons arrests.

Police say they have been getting positive feedback on the effort. One business owner in an area known for low-level criminal activity -- the Good Hope district -- said he has seen a substantial change in the neighborhood already. He said the people who frequent his business have told him they feel safer when they visit the neighborhood.

The department's efforts are putting those who engage in low-level crime on notice that if they operate in the open they will be detected. If that alone runs them off the streets, then Operation Safe Streets is accomplishing what it set out to do.