The officers of the Metro Patrol 210 sector were honored with a Special Unit Citation for their outstanding community policing efforts in a particular Kansas City neighborhood. Check out what they did:
The Eastwood Hills Neighborhood of Kansas City is a much more enjoyable place to live thanks to the work of five dedicated Metro Patrol Division Officers.
Beginning in July 2009, five officers on different watches assigned to the 210 sector had taken it upon themselves to substantially reduce crime in Eastwood Hills. The officers were Terrence Owen, Russell Lee, Angela Conaway, Nathan Magers and David Nathan.
When they weren’t handling other calls, these officers did as much proactive work as they could in the neighborhood. They made 17 state arrests, 60 city arrests, wrote 56 traffic tickets and recovered a firearm and stolen car. They conducted surveillance to catch one suspect wanted for robbery and another wanted on aggravated assault. In three months, the officers attended seven community meetings, most of which they did on their own, off-duty time. They made an effort to get out on foot to get to know neighbors and kept in constant contact with them in person and by e-mail. The officers also organized two Night Out Against Crime events featuring KCPD’s Mounted Patrol and Canine Sections, specialized squad cars and ATVs. Sergeant William Hewitt said the events were heavily attended and strengthened relationships between police and the community.
The officers really focused their efforts on Eastwood Hills from July to October 2009. Compared with the same time period in 2008, suspicious drug activity fell 44 percent, burglaries dropped 38 percent, suspicious vehicles dropped 23 percent and 42 percent fewer groups of juveniles were dispersed.
Letters and e-mails of thanks poured in from the community. One wrote the following in a letter to Chief Corwin in September 2009: “I want to let you know how wonderful it is to have Kansas City’s finest working in our neighborhood. The things they have accomplished here since the first week in July is just about unbelievable. Our life is much better because we feel safer.”
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