HICKS COLUMN: Thank cops for a new city

Not so long ago, North Charleston was a pretty rough place.

For four years running, it was one of the top 25 most dangerous cities in America -- including a two-year stay in the top 10, alongside St. Louis and Camden, N.J.

That's the kind of stigma that will stunt a city's growth, make it hard to attract new businesses or residents. Not to mention the fact that it's not great for the folks who already live there.

North Charleston police recently released statistics that show violent crime is down 75 percent in the city since its peak in 1996. It's the continuation of a trend that has been moving in the right direction for several years. Now North Charleston has a crime rate comparable to Charleston or Columbia, about average for a city of its size.

Even with a national trend of crime being on the wane, that is more than impressive -- it's amazing.

A lot of good people deserve credit for this, and a lot of others need to rethink old stereotypes of North Chuck.

A plan that worked

Back in 2006, Police Chief Jon Zumalt recalls, violence was spiking across the city and the police felt powerless.

That's when Zumalt began meeting with Mayor Keith Summey every week, talking about what needed to be done to bring this epidemic under control. The North Charleston Police Department staff had some good ideas and strategies that they were confident would curb crime in the city.

What they didn't have, Zumalt says, was "boots on the ground" to get it done.

"It's one thing to have a good plan, but without good officers to implement it ..." Zumalt says.

City Council, at the urging of Summey, began to increase the department's budget, eventually adding 80 officers to the force. That gave Zumalt the manpower to implement zone policing, concentrating personnel in areas where statistics showed crime was trending. Officers were assigned to single areas so that they got to know the people who lived there and the unique problems they had.

The data told police that most violent crime was occurring in seven neighborhoods during an extended prime time. So the department put together teams of police that stayed in those seven areas between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m., seven days a week.

It proved to be an effective deterrent.

"This is the work of a lot of hard-working, dedicated police officers," Zumalt says.

The numbers don't lie.

A new city

There have been a few people who have complained about the increased police presence, and say more innocent folks are stopped and questioned by police.

But talk to the neighbors, the people who live in North Charleston every day, and you hear a different story. Most will tell you the police are doing a great job, and that they have been happy with the changes in the department.

"If you're on the street at 3 a.m., they might stop you and ask you what you're doing. If you aren't doing anything wrong, you've got nothing to worry about," says Joe Jerome, president of the Midland Park Neighborhood Association. "They're out here protecting us. They're doing their job."

And they obviously are doing it very well. Look at North Charleston these days, bringing in Boeing, the development around Tanger, the revamped Park Circle. This is a new city.

For all that, you can thank Mayor Summey, City Council and Chief Zumalt.

But mostly you need to thank a lot of very good cops.

Reach Brian Hicks at bhicks@postandcourier.com or follow him on Twitter at @BriHicks_PandC.