Panel of Toledo officials discuss urban safety during forum at downtown library
5/30/2014Improving safety and quality of life in Toledo is the responsibility of everyone who lives and works here, officials said during a forum today on urban safety.
“Open your eyes. Open your ears. Listen,” said Toledo police Officer Dana Slay, one of the department’s nine community services officers. “Block Watch is everybody’s business even if it doesn’t involve you.”
The meeting, hosted by the Press Club of Toledo at the Main Library downtown, featured a panel of Officer Slay, Sgt. Joe Heffernan, Chief William Moton, and Mayor D. Michael Collins. The 90-minute discussion focused on community involvement and the department’s efforts to become more engaged in neighborhoods.
“We can’t do this on our own,” said police Capt. Mike Troendle. “No matter how many officers we have in your neighborhood, we don’t know your neighborhood like you do.”
Since Chief Moton took over the department in January, the number of designated community-services officers has increased from three to nine. Those officers, once the newest class officers finishes their four-month training period – the community services officers will be teamed up with nuisance and code enforcement inspectors and assigned to each “sector” in the city.