Mayor Dennis P. Williams and Chief of Police Bobby Cummings, joined by New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon and the New Castle County Public Safety Director Joseph Bryant, announced “Operation Disrupt,” an initiative targeting gun violence in Wilmington.
The announcement came after an especially violent weekend, with two deaths of teens in separate incidents, WDEL and other media outlets reported.
Phase one of “Operation Disrupt” involves the realignment of police officers from specialized divisions deployed in designated hot spot crime areas throughout Wilmington. Specifically, one lieutenant, five sergeants, and 22 officers will be reassigned to the high crime areas throughout the city. Placing additional officers on the street will increase the visible presence of law enforcement, in addition to strengthening the relationships with residents who live in these neighborhoods by more police officers conducting foot patrols, a release from the city stated.
“The wave of violence our city has seen over the last few weeks is unconscionable. Our citizens deserve the right to live in their homes, sit on their porches, play in the parks, walk the streets and feel safe,” said Mayor Williams. “In order to combat violent crime we must increase the number of patrol officers. Through phase one of ‘Operation Disrupt,’ we will put nearly 30 more officers on the street. As ‘Operation Disrupt’ represents just one part of a multi-faceted approach to fighting violent crime in Wilmington, we continue to build partnerships with State and New Castle County officials and law enforcement agencies to crack down on gun violence.”
During phase one, the Wilmington Police Department will also direct its focus on suspects involved in criminal activity through intelligence and crime analysis data, conduct routine pedestrian and vehicle stops, address nighttime curfew violations of juveniles and serve warrants on criminals living in the area. In an effort to increase communication with local residents, all commanding officers will also attend local community and civic group meetings.
“Our police department recognizes the value of open communication and trust with the members of the local community,” said Cummings. “We will continue to work with our residents to improve relationships, as well as, their quality of life.”
The plan also comes after Gov. Jack Markell, in his State of the State address, called for a plan to use outside expertise in coming up with ways to combat the homicide rate.
Earlier, Attorney General Matt Denn, accompanied by Markell, announced a plan to use tens of millions of dollars in proceeds from a mortgage settlement with banks for housing and other tools designed to improve communities with high crime and poverty rates.
The outlines of Operation Disrupt have been suggested for years from those concerned about the long-running crisis and what is seen as resistance by the city over the years in accepting programs that have been effective elsewhere.
Williams was elected on a platform of dealing with the high homicide rate. During his mayoral campaign, he struck an alliance with Gordon, who has approved deploying some resources to the city’s crime fighting efforts.
The homicide rate also took center stage after the publication of a story in Newsweek, entitled Murdertown USA. The story was shared perhaps hundreds of thousands of time in social media and led to more calls for action. The story was denounced by Williams as inaccurately depicting the situation facing the city.
At he same time, however, business leaders also became more vocal in calling for action, a reflection of concerns among employees about more petty crimes downtown and fears that the wave of shootings could move out of a few neighborhoods.
