New downtown policing team to reduce ‘little nuisance issues,’ boost quality of life
The Wichita Police Department has launched a new community policing team in downtown aimed at reducing nuisance issues and elevating quality of life for area businesses and residents.
Community policing is a decades-old program that the department has used in its efforts to address and reduce crime. But it looks slightly different in the city’s core than it does in other areas of town.
Residents who live, work and visit the area will soon see officers patrolling not only in cars, but also more on foot, on bicycles and on horseback, police said during a Thursday morning news conference.
The downtown team is among the first phases of creating a Central Bureau police substation in the area.
“This is exciting for us. Downtown is the heart of the city, and we want to ensure that we maintain its safety and that it continues to thrive and do well,” police Chief Gordon Ramsay said, noting that bringing a team to downtown has been under discussion for a few years.
“Often our issues in downtown are not violent crime. ... If there are incidents, it’s people that know each other,” he said, adding that most complaints are about noise or disorderly conduct, or involve someone with a mental health issue.
The four-officer team will work closely with the department’s Homeless Outreach Team, caseworkers and social workers “to look at a big-picture approach to reduce the little nuisance issues” including graffiti, drunken behavior, public urination and other “quality of life crimes,” Ramsay said.
“Study after study shows that when people know their police officers and see police officers, they feel safer. So our officers are going to be on foot and on bike downtown, focusing on building relationships with those who live and work downtown and dealing with little problem areas that we have.”
WPD began implementing community policing in 1994, according to the police department’s website. The teams operate citywide and work with beat patrol officers to identify crime trends in neighborhoods and business districts.
The new team “is just another aspect and another way to address community policing, and really engage our downtown core area, which is a very vibrant part of our city, and help to keep it vibrant,” police spokesman Officer Charley Davidson said Thursday.
Officer Greg Feuerborn, a member of the new unit, said between 30 and 40% of downtown and Delano-neighborhood businesses and residents who responded to a short survey about their concerns indicated a desire for more police presence in the area. That includes in the morning and daytime hours.
Often police are more visible in the evening when bars and clubs are open.
The survey has received about 200 responses so far, Feuerborn said.
“We’re going to use some innovative techniques. But we’re also going to use some timeless techniques, and foot patrol is one of those,” he said.
“Our focus is just more of the positive contacts with the community.”
Businesses and residents can contact members of the new team by email:
- Officer Chris Chrisman, CChrisman@wichita.gov;
- Officer Greg Feuerborn, GFeuerborn@wichita.gov;
- Officer Ryan Tyrrell, RTyrrell@wichita.gov;
- Officer Chris Bloss, CBloss@wichita.gov
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 4:40 PM.
