South-side residents like positive attention

When the Cape Girardeau City Council opens the floor at its regular meetings to residents' comments, it seldom hears praise.

So what a pleasant surprise when Dwight and Sharon Armour -- south-side residents, parents and business owners -- attended a council meeting this month to say thank you.

Mrs. Armour explained her feelings to a reporter a week later. "Before, unless someone got stabbed or shot, the neighborhood got little attention from police. But now you can really see the difference."

She was talking about the police department's proactive stance on her neighborhood. The couple and their two daughters live on Good Hope Street, and the Armours operate a group home for adults with mental disabilities on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Pacific Street.

The neighborhood ranks lowest socio-economically in Cape Girardeau. And while the majority of the residents are law-abiding, family people like the Armours, the area also shelters the most open of Cape Girardeau's drug trades.

Residents report loud gatherings on streets. Some say they fear becoming victims of theft or violence.

But it appears some common sense law enforcement by police, combined with active neighborhood watch groups, are going a long way toward turning things around.

In September, police proposed more street lights on the south side and had a warm reception from the council. Police chief Steve Strong restructured beat assignments so that the same officers are working the same areas, becoming more informed about the drug trade and working closely with narcotics investigators. As a result of that and other factors, the department is on track to increase its number of drug arrests by nearly 40 percent.

Also in September, officers spent the month walking south-side streets and warning loiterers that they planned to begin enforcing city ordinances against walking in the street where sidewalks are provided or congregating and loitering in the streets in a way that blocks traffic.

After being largely ignored, they issued 41 tickets in nine days along several blocks of Jefferson Street.

Residents and visitors to the neighborhood have expressed frustration about trying to get where they're going, only to have defiant youth mosey down the middle of the street or crowd the roadway with their friends.

As Hanover Street resident Jessie Mae Smith said, "They ought to be home or somewhere else. There's no reason for them to be walking around out there unless they've got to go somewhere."

She makes a good point. There's seldom anything positive going on when large groups of young people are gathered in the middle of the street. How much better it would be for them to avail themselves of church, city and school athletic programs and learning activities.

Perhaps the police department's recent crackdown will point them in the right direction. The officers deserve our applause for their efforts to make every part of Cape Girardeau safe for every resident.