ST. LOUIS, Mo — ST. LOUIS — A South City neighborhood and St. Louis Metropolitan Police joined forces Thursday night, to fight crime and build relationships.
The first-ever safety walk involved a mix of neighbors and SLMPD officers. They gathered at Fox Park, had a cookout, and then walked the rest of the neighborhood, in lock-step.
Some of the conversation was direct about the problems in the area, other was friendly.
Regardless, everyone was glad the conversation got started in the first place.
"We have residents who are feeling like they are somewhat forgotten," explained Sara Levin, the organizer of the event.
Levin moved to Fox Park 10 years ago. She's now the safety committee chairperson for the area.
"Build some bridges and talk about our points of concern and what are some good things," she said.
Levin said violent crime in nearby Soulard and rampant drug activity on a few blocks of Shenandoah Avenue, encouraged her to make this happen.
"They’re struggling a little bit with some problem properties on the street," she said.
Captain Ryan Cousin of SLMPD accepted without hesitation.
"And they see us more so as the community and not just passing on information," said Cousin.
Cousin said community involvement like this is central to Chief John Hayden's strategy of rebuilding trust in St. Louis neighborhoods.
"Of course trust is an issue but with situations like this and programs like this, we can slowly build that trust, and I do believe we are building that back, we just have to do more of this," he said.
He said they want to see residents in neighborhoods like Fox Park, comfortable telling officers more about crime and issues.
"A lot of time crimes go unsolved because we don’t have the necessary information that we need," said Captain Cousin.
As the group walked, they talked about what to look out for, how to stay safe and how to work together.
The inaugural group consisted of about a dozen people. They hope there will be more people the next time they do it.
"The interest is growing just by us walking around, people are asking us what are we doing and then they’ll get more involved," said Cousin.
Because even though the journey for this neighborhood, may be long and hard, sometimes all it takes is the first step.
"This is sending a message of community and that we are all a part of it and there are a lot of people here," said Levin. "We’re all in it together and we’re all on the same team."
Everyone in the group was a resident of Fox Park, except one. Jen Dykeman heard about the event and came so she can host a similar event in Soulard. Captain Cousin said they welcome the opportunity.
If you're interested in hosting a similar event, Levin said the best way to do it is to reach out to your Neighborhood Stabilization Officer.
