Greenville Police Department launches team to build relationships in certain communities

The Greenville Police Department — a law-enforcement agency that, like others, has struggled to reflect the communities it serves — has launched a Neighborhood Engagement Team to build more effective relationships with neighborhoods, businesses and churches throughout the city.

Greenville Police Chief Howie Thompson said the team's mission is to promote safety, prevent crime and enhance quality of life.

And he said it's not just a department thing. The goal is for the engaged neighborhoods to better promote safety, prevent crime and enhance quality of life, too.

The announcement of the new team was made Sept. 20 after The Greenville News reported on the anniversary of George Floyd's death that residents of local Black communities remain wary of how police patrol their neighborhoods.

The new team marks a change, Thompson said.

"I tell my team they're community patrol but also answering calls in the area — they'll be so busy answering calls that they won't have time to be in the community," Thompson said. "That'll only pull them out of the community."

Now Neighborhood Engagement Team officers are dedicated to spending time in communities when they're not responding to calls, Thompson said. No new officers were added to the department for the program. Implementation took time in planning approaches to maintain availability to respond to calls, Thompson said.

The department is beginning with four areas:

• Southernside,

• West Greenville,

• Pleasant Valley, and

• Nicholtown.

Eventually, when more officers are moved to this new assignment, the Colonel Elias Earle Historic District, Stratham, Viola Park and Green Ave, Logan Park and Haynie-Sirrine will have designated officers, too, Thompson said.

"We want to make sure everyone likes what we're doing, that the citizens are supporting what we're doing," he said. "I think it will be. Everyone I've talked to, like neighborhood presidents and associations, love the idea."

Thompson said because Nicholtown is so large, the department would like to devote two officers there eventually.

"It's important to listen the communities and council members in what they wanted, more engagement," Thompson said.

Mary Duckett, long-time resident and activist of Southernside, said the Neighborhood Engagement team is a wonderful idea.

Officer Zuri Gerbert is assigned to Southernside, and Duckett said she has a "humble spirit" and she's sure that Gerbert will make connections.

"I'm praying that the new officers in the neighborhoods will bring community camaraderie with the police department," Duckett said.

Gerbert was born and raised in Greenville and said Southernside was a new neighborhood to her as she has not worked in that area before.

Although still uniform patrol, Gerbert balances call response with her new assignment with meeting business owners and residents in Southernside. To familiarize herself with the area, Gerbert has had meetings with Duckett and City Council member Lillian Brock Flemming.

Gerbert said she naturally volunteers for anything the department has when it comes to community building, and when this opportunity came, she said it was a good way to incorporate it into her everyday work life.

"In uniform patrol I was going from one side of the city to the next," Gerbert said. "I didn't have the chance to be in one specific neighborhood and getting to know the communities as well as I'd like. Now I'm in a smaller area so I have the chance to get to know them."

Thompson said he thinks the program will grow into more neighborhoods in the next couple of years.

Tamia Boyd is a Michigan native who covers breaking news in Greenville. Email her at tboyd@gannett.com, and follow her on Twitter @tamiamb.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville Police Department starts team to build needed relationships