POTTSVILLE -- Police in Pottsville hope to establish better communication with the people they serve.
"It'd be nice for police to, you know, make good friendships with the people. Try to protect the people, do the best they can. I think they should do more foot patrols," said Ed Lindenmuth of Pottsville.
Starting this weekend, Pottsville police officers plan to conduct citizen contact patrols in each ward of the city. Officers expect to pair up and walk the streets to interact with residents.
"I think it's a good idea. So the people could get to know the policemen, and the policemen could get to know the people," said Janet Terefencao of Pottsville.
The Pottsville Police Department says the goal of this initiative is to build a better relationship with the residents, and to find out what matters to them most.
"I mean growing up that's what police did. It definitely helped considerably, because you knew most of the people," said Frank Spietler of Pottsville.
Spietler is among many happy to hear that Pottville Police plan on promoting that kind of relationship again, especially when across the country the tone toward officers has changed.
In addition to walking the streets of Pottsville, officers also plan to knock on doors to initiate conversation.
After several weekends, the department plans to go over all the information they gather, assess how successful the community contact program is, and how it's going to help with future patrol patterns.
