CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Janee Sharper is a mother of two young boys and a lifelong resident of Camden. Crime in her Whitman Park neighborhood is still not ideal. She’s still wary of being outside with her children, but there is a marked difference from years ago.
“I see the change, and I do believe it’s because of the police presence,” she said. “It’s definitely a turnaround from how it was five years ago to today.”
Camden was once known as one of the most violent cities in America. After nearly 10 years of a continued commitment to community policing, serious progress has been made.
While big cities such as Philadelphia are setting new records for shootings and murders, the trend in Camden has gone the other way. Murder and violent crime numbers are down significantly over the past decade in Camden. Homicides peaked at 67 in 2012 but have fallen dramatically since. This year is on the same pace as last year, when 23 people were killed.
“When it comes to the look of Camden and this area, in particular, it’s a 180,” Sharper said.
This trend is substantially different than what’s been happening nationally, where the murder rate is climbing. In Philadelphia, the city is on pace to break last year’s record high.
So, what’s the difference? Community policing became the focus of the force after a dramatic transition in 2013. At the height of the violence, the city force was dissolved and replaced with a countywide department. All cops had to reapply for their jobs.
“We’ve gotten involved with so much more outside of the scope of policing, and that’s the key thing,” said Police Chief Gabe Rodriguez. “Folks are stepping up more, trusting us, communicating with us on a regular basis, so we’re getting those guns off the street before the triggers are being pulled.”
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The effort has also resulted in community policing in other forms, like officers playing football with kids and mowing lawns for elderly residents, including Esther Mercado Pitts.
“It makes me feel like they see us,” she said.
“We build trust,” Rodriguez added. “We build relationships. So now our police force goes from 400 to 50,000. We have 77,000 residents documented — we want as many on our side as possible to help us police their own neighborhoods.”
For Sharper, the city’s problems with drug dealers and gang members are still very present.
“People’s intentions … it is getting worse,” she said.
Other residents who did not want to be named said the drug problem is worse than ever, and the city is more dangerous overall because of that, despite the reduction in homicides. While murders were simultaneously decreasing, overdoses in the county have more than doubled since 2013.
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Despite what police say, Sharper has noticed a reduction in the number of times officers are engaging with people in the last couple of years. She said some have been parking the patrol car for only a few minutes before leaving altogether.
“And then they pull off. So guess what? [Offenders] go right back to exactly what they were doing because they know they’re not staying around for long,” Sharper continued.
Rodriguez admitted there’s still plenty of work to do, but it’s a challenge he enthusiastically welcomes.
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