Birmingham police crackdown makes 31 arrests in Central Park

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama 
Monday was a banner day for Theresa Howard.
A resident of the crime-­afflicted Central Garden Apartments in western Birmingham, Howard said she got to do something she never does after doz­ens of Birmingham police officers swept through her neighborhood rounding up criminal suspects.

"I've never opened my windows in two years, but I did today," Howard said. "I opened all of them."
To many, that might seem small. But to those in some of Birmingham's ne­glected and crime-ridden neighborhoods, it was huge.
"The store is right there, and people can't walk to it without getting robbed," said 43-year-old Carla Murrell. "It's not safe out here."
More than 100 Birming­ham police officers fanned out over west Birmingham Monday to arrest wanted criminals and to assure area residents that their complaints and concerns have been heard.
Operation RESCUE -- Rapid Engagement Suppressing Crime through Unified Enforcement -- began before dawn, targeting the Central Park community, police officials said.
Teams of officers were in search of 75 people wanted on outstanding warrants, mostly for felony property crimes such as theft and burglary in the 35211 and 35208 zip codes. Police cleared 21 felony warrants and 25 misdemeanor warrants. They made 17 felony arrests, 14 misdemeanor arrests and issued 16 citations. A command post was set up at Fair Park Arena as officers responded to complaints involving drug houses, burglaries and robberies.
In the second phase of the operation, teams of officers walked through the Central Park community talking with residents.
"We wanted the officers out of their vehicles, walking in uniform, easily identifiable and making positive contact," said homicide Lt. Scott Praytor, who commanded the operation. "We wanted to tell them what we're doing, and why we were in their community."
The operation was hard to miss. The caravan of officers entered neighborhoods in a single-file line of patrol cars and a bus with a motorcycle escort and blue lights flashing. They questioned suspicious people walking down the street and visited with residents in their yards and on porches.
One woman smiled broadly and gave the officers a thumbs-up.
"We were hoping what happened would happen and that's that people came out of their house to see what was going on," Praytor said. "They were happy to see us, thanking us for being out there. We had them giving us information, telling us things that had happened.
"We stopped and talked to some guys doing yard work and they said, 'You don't know how good this makes us feel that y'all are riding around while we're out here working.' " Anthony Marino, owner of Marino's Associated Foods on Bessemer Road and president of the Five Points West Merchant's Association, was thrilled to see the officers.
"It's not that it will make a difference," Marino said, "it is making a difference. It gives us a sense of security."
Tonia Bonner has lived in Central Park for about a year.
She stood sweeping her front porch Monday while dozens of police officers walked up and down her street.
"This is my first time seeing something like this, and I love it," Bonner said with a smile. "In this part of the neighborhood, there's a lot of gunfire going on. I love my neighbors, but there's some youngsters out here whose parents need to get a hold of them."
Bonner said most of the break-ins in her neighborhood happen during the daylight hours. "By them being out here, there's a lot of home invasions being prevented," she said.
In Central Gardens apartments in the South Park area, Annette Brown, 55, welcomed the operation.
"Folks are getting raped and robbed out here," she said. "this right here might put a stop to it."
Brown and Murrell agreed it would have to be an ongoing effort to make a real difference.
"And as soon as they leave," Murrell said, "it will go back to normal. They need to do it more often."
Richard Morris, owner of the Central Gardens Apartments, sat in a lawn chair on the front porch of the leasing office and watched the flurry of activity.
"We've been trying to clean it up," Morris said. "I know what they're doing takes a lot of money and manpower, but a show of force is always helpful."
Praytor said he wants the message to be clear.
"For everybody that lives here, goes to work everyday, that's lived here for a long time, we want them to know the police department is out here doing our job, and we're looking out for them. We want them to feel safe when they leave their house," he said.
"The other message is to the criminal element that's getting out here thinking they're going to victimize these people while they're out at work, we're putting a stop to it," Praytor said. "We're going to keep running operations like this, and we're going to keep putting bad people in jail."