Extra officers in Fresno's Tower District cut crime, says police chief

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno's police chief says the extra officers he's assigned to patrol the Tower District are making a difference.

Tower residents are noticing officers on foot and on bikes. It's what the Chief calls community policing. It's something he wishes he could do in every neighborhood.

They're hard to catch and not usually on your radar as they're not as noticeable as a patrol car, but for the past month they've been cycling their way around and through the Tower District. Cutting crime one pedal at a time.

Chief Jerry Dyer said, "We dedicated two officers to the Tower District working in the evening hours because of some of the issues we were seeing there in terms of crime and other social disorder."

Chief Dyer says they noticed the trouble was escalating. There were more aggravated assaults and robberies, but after those two officers took to the streets, the numbers came back much lower.

"The main thing we saw was that having those officers dedicated to the Tower has been good for the Tower in terms of crime reduction," said Chief Dyer.

But not everyone is seeing those same results.

Tower resident Michelle Nastasis said, "At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, 4:30, 4:45 I have to have my head on a swivel."

Nastasis hosts a local online show and says the criminal element is still very much a presence in and around the Tower District. She's voiced her concerns on a community Facebook page called "Please Help Stop Crime in the Tower District." She says there's been assaults and graffiti. Despite all that she admits the patrols are a good thing.

"It's a start, it's not a permanent solution by any stretch of the imagination," Nastasis said.

For now, Chief Dyer says the community policing is a good show of force, one that's working so well it's moving crime away from the Tower District.

Chief Dyer added, "But there is a displacement effect in terms of us pushing crime that may have been in the Tower a few months ago over to the west, outside of the Tower District."

It's a pattern that residents like Michelle Nastasis hopes will continue.

The officers in the Tower District are also building relationships with businesses and homeowners; which the Chief says is yet another way to effectively fight crime.