CRACKING DOWN

Busting drug dealers and serving ice cream to children might seem a
weird mix, but both are part of an increased police presence that's
been a winning combination in reducing crime in the Cleveland Avenue
Homes area of Winston-Salem. As police now try to replicate their
success in other areas of the city, they must be careful to make sure
the Cleveland Avenue Homes area continues to improve.

The program, tagged the New Hope Initiative, is not easy, nor is it
perfect. It uses a controversial concept. The program, modeled on one
in High Point, offers drug dealers with relatively minor records a
second chance - if they quit dealing.

Of 12 dealers in the Cleveland Avenue area who were in March offered
the chance to stop selling drugs, five have since been arrested on
drug charges, the Journal's Patrick Wilson recently reported. Mattie
Young, a neighborhood leader, said, "We've still got some stragglers
hanging around, but the police are visible and they're aware of it."
Overall, she said, "the drug situation in Cleveland has gone down
tremendously."

That's good news for Young and all the other honest residents of
Cleveland Homes, as well as the rest of the city's residents. A small
part of drug dealing, and, in all likelihood, its related crime, has
been stopped. And that saves taxpayers the cost of paying the room
and board of drug dealers who are caught and jailed.

Although five of the dealers have been arrested since the crackdown,
the other seven dealers have apparently stopped, at least
temporarily. Other dealers from the area, ones with more extensive
records, have been charged and, in a few cases, already convicted and
sentenced to prison.

Two teenagers were recently shot in the area. But for the most part,
crime is down and citations and arrests are up.

Much of the success of the program is due to cooperation. Officials
with the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem, the Winston-Salem Urban
League and other agencies helped police spread the word about the
program. Police worked with churches and other groups to try to
provide help to the drug dealers who stopped.

Now, Police Chief Pat Norris says her officers want to make similar
efforts in other neighborhoods. Two areas among several being
considered are Old Greensboro Road and the area of Green and Watkins
streets off Broad Street near downtown.

Police say they're still following up on the Cleveland Avenue area.
That's good.

Much has been accomplished. As they start the New Hope Initiative in
other areas, police should continue to help the Cleveland Avenue
citizens clean up their neighborhood.