Residents of South Greenwood will have a chance to talk to Police Chief Ray Moore and others one-on-one about crime in their neighborhoods at a meeting Wednesday night.
“He’s coming to talk about the safety of the community,” said David Jordan, president of the Greenwood Voters League, which is hosting the town hall event.
The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Elks Lodge on Scott Street.
Jordan said he hopes Mayor Carolyn McAdams will also attend the meeting.
Moore, who attended a similar meeting in North Greenwood a week ago, said he supports the idea of greater communication between Greenwood Police Department officers and the community they are sworn to protect.
“I think this is great. Seeing the citizens coming together. ... It gives the community a chance to talk to us. That’s what we’re here for,” he said.
With 10 homicides in Greenwood in 2016, Jordan said, its important to consider the total cost of crime.
“We are spending over a million dollars fixing up downtown. You don’t want people to be afraid to come here,” he said.
Crime, Jordan said, is contagious. “Crime spreads worse than cancer cells. We need to look at it as one city.”
Jordan said as the City Council prepares to vote Tuesday for a proposed $1 per hour pay increase for police and firefighters, the city must be ready to make other efforts to recruit and retain personnel, even if that means a tax increase.
Moore said Wednesday’s meeting is a necessary step in building better community relations.
“Most people don’t have any contact with the police. It gives them a chance to meet us, to talk to us. ... To develop those ties,” he said.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden @gwcommonwealth.com.
