SAVANNAH, GA -
The following article was submitted by Savannah Chatham Metro Police:
Officers
from the Central Precinct of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police
Department found themselves pursuing different culprits recently – tennis
shoes.
Metro
turned to Georgia Power Company line crews as partners when citizens attending
neighborhood association meetings complained that tennis shoes hanging from
power lines were creating negative images for their neighborhoods. So
Capt. DeVonn Adams, commander of the precinct, called on the utility to help
solve the problem. In two days of work some 200 shoes were removed from power
lines in the Tatumville area and in mid-town on LeGrande Street.
The
project caught the attention of Mayor-Council when Adams mentioned it during a
discussion in Thursday's pre-meeting. It inspired comments of support from the
city governing body.
"It
was a quality of life issue that was bothering members of the public and it was
important that it be addressed," Adams said. " It may not be a traditional
police role, but Chief (Willie) Lovett has encouraged us to build relationships
with the public in every way we can and we needed to respond."
Historically,
shoes hanging from power lines were indicative of drug sales in the area.
Besides being unsightly, the stigma of drugs being sold in the area was
unnerving to the neighbors.
Adams
said the tennis shoe eradication program will continue as long as he can build
partnerships with the utility companies who have the equipment and training to
remove the shoes safely.
