Looking forward: Cape Girardeau community, police work to reduce crime

The summer of 2014 wasn't easy for Cape Girardeau's Ward 2.

A series of shootings left four men dead, several others injured and many neighbors disheartened and afraid.

"We stood still. We didn't know if we could go forward or step to the side," Ward 2 Councilwoman Shelly Moore said in a telephone interview last week.

But nearly four months after local pastors organized a march against violence, the community is moving forward, striving to "ignite hope and ignite a change," Moore said.

"I don't think they're on edge anymore," she said. "I think they're looking forward to a new day. ... I don't think they're focused on that [fear] anymore."

That isn't to say everything is rosy: A shooting Thursday on South Ellis Street sent a man to the hospital with a wounded shoulder, disrupting the relative peace the area had enjoyed for the past several weeks.

But even as police investigate the first shooting of 2015, efforts continue to foster cooperation and trust between law enforcement and the community -- and, leaders hope, reduce violent crime in the process.

Building trust

Police sometimes struggle to win the trust of the communities they are hired to protect.

That struggle erupted into widespread protests last summer in Ferguson, Missouri, after police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown.

The shooting and subsequent protests cast a spotlight on the often strained relations between police and residents of the communities they serve.

Two hours south of Ferguson, however, the relationship between officers and the community remains positive, Moore and Cape Girardeau police chief Wes Blair have said.

"So far, I haven't found anything that's spilled over," Moore said. "... So far, from what I've seen, everybody seems to be the same -- you know, there's no malice, no ugliness coming from it here. [Community leaders] are still working with the police, as far as I know."

Blair said the department's active approach to community relations has helped prevent the kind of tension that has flared elsewhere.

"I personally think that has headed off a lot of problems we could have had, because we have those relationships," he said in a recent interview.

Several local businesses have volunteered to host the department's "Coffee with a Cop" gatherings, in which officers spend a few hours talking with residents over coffee.

Bi-State Oil hosted Coffee with a Cop at two of its stores, and Chick-fil-A also took a turn.

At a recent Neighborhood Development Initiative meeting in Ward 1, Cpl. Darin Hickey, public information officer for the department, told attendees Target will host Coffee with a Cop next month, and several other businesses are lined up for spring.

"There's several businesses [that] said they wanted to host it," Blair said in a recent interview. "We take that as a real positive."

The department's participation in ongoing events such as Coffee with a Cop and shorter-term projects such as block parties, rallies and an October breast-cancer awareness program help police build rapport with residents, Blair and Moore said.

"They're not just there to give tickets, but ... to work with [residents] in all areas and protect them," Moore said. "They want them to know that they are comfortable and accessible."

Practical tools

After a meeting with residents, ministers and city officials last summer, the department also added an anonymous phone line that conceals tipsters' phone numbers and identities, and it is on the verge of launching another communication tool: a free cellphone app that will let people submit anonymous tips via text message.

Hickey said Friday the department is just waiting for the Apple Store to approve the app, which should happen sometime in the next three weeks.

Blair said he expects the service to be well-used.

"Everybody text messages now," he said. "... I think that's really going to go a long way towards anonymous stuff."

Looking ahead

Going forward, Moore said community leaders are working to improve race relations and foster positive interaction among Cape Girardeau residents.

"We are trying to bring a variety of different things into the city to help build morale and build friendship and build trust," she said.

Upcoming activities include a Feb. 7 black history trivia contest and a Feb. 28 prayer breakfast and play, all of which are open to the public, Moore said.

Such events may be small in scope, but they help move the city forward, she said.

"It may be in small steps, but they're moving," Moore said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.