ORLANDO, Fla. — A community initiative in Orlando is bringing law enforcement and neighbors together.
On Monday, a slew of Orlando Police Officers showed up at the Colonial Town Neighborhood Center for a town hall with the police chief, Eric Smith.
The event was organized for residents of District 4, which includes Milk District, Thornton Park, Delaney Park, and Colonialtown.
Officers who are stationed in the area introduced themselves and detailed the work they do.
Officers said violent crimes are down across District 4 by 20%, shootings by 40%, while parking and traffic issues have been the main concern for the community.
“We’ve done 2,886 traffic stops and written 912 tickets – we just want people to slow down, that’s a big move for us,” Chief Smith said.
Residents also had the chance to connect with officers over a meal, provided to residents during the event.
“The officers come to show the community who works in their area. It’s nice when an officer knocks on your door and they [neighbors] think ‘I know them, I met them at the meeting,” Smith said. “We are a police department, but we work for our community. They need to have input on how we are doing policing.”
OPD organizes the town halls quarterly across all Orlando Districts.
Meetings with Districts 1 and 6 are scheduled for the remainder of the week.
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