The Toledo Police Department unveiled today a new law enforcement strategy leaders hope will reduce gun violence in the city.
City and law enforcement officials said Operation STOP — which stands for strategic tactical operational policing — will supplement their efforts in the neighborhoods hardest hit by serious crime. They spoke about the plan during a news conference at the downtown Safety Building.
Each week a district station will select one “micro-place” based on shooting reports and crime trends, identify repeat offenders in the area, and increase enforcement, Chief George Kral said.
Officers will follow up with door-to-door canvassing and neighborhood meetings to inform the public. Toledo police are also partnering with area law enforcement agencies to pool their resources, Chief Kral said.
“We're striving to change the conditions in these locations, which make crime so prevalent. We all know that arrests alone rarely take a bad location and make it good,” Chief Kral said.
Toledo has recorded 11 homicides and 25 people shot so far this year.
“These initiatives are a lot more than simply having a saturation policing philosophy. You know what I mean — dumping a lot of people in a relatively small area, stopping everybody, and having a zero tolerance. That's not what we're doing,” Chief Kral said.
Contact Ryan Dunn at: rdunn@theblade.com, 419-724-6095, or on Twitter @rdunnblade.
First Published March 10, 2017, 4:52 p.m.