Dear Commissioner Lewis:
Letters penned recently by Bonny Corbeil, William O. Dove as well as an article by former Assistant AG Martin Alperen focus in on the concept of Community Policing. It is a tried and true concept that needs to be embraced and expanded upon by the VIPD.
Efforts by Officers Huggins and Fleming have made Coral Bay much safer since the opening of the police sub station. We are part of a neighborhood known as Quaco-Zimmerman. Last spring a letter was written praising their efforts, signed by community members and submitted to Deputy Chief Angelo Hill. No feedback was ever received as to the department’s opinion of our letter. Do these things go into the circular file? We would like to know.
We live at the end of a dead end road and are one of a few year-round residents. It is comforting to have a police patrol drive by and beep and wave just to see if everything is OK in the area. We understand that they often work double shifts to maintain coverage. Recently there have been no patrols. Have they been canceled or suspended due to lack of interest? Where are Huggins and Fleming? Have all of their efforts to set up Community Policing gone up in smoke? We hope not! Huggins and Fleming put substantial time and effort into getting to know the people on their beat. It seems that they are the only ones who patrol Coral Bay in their fashion. Other officers have not repeated their efforts. We miss them and would like an explanation.
Community Policing works and it builds confidence in and respect for the VIPD. We know that it has worked for us.
Sincerely Submitted,
James and Mary Dufur