Police Chief Chris Magnus said there would be more police patrols throughout Tucson. And now, that plan is helping the East Side stop burglars.
Ward 2 Council Member Paul Cunningham says TPD's burglary reduction program is working well on the East Side. He doesn't want to "pound his chest" and say the program is perfect -- but he's thrilled it seems to be working.
"Fortunately, with an increase in patrol, we've been able to make some, make some big arrests," Cunningham said. "And hopefully take some bad people off the streets."
Noting the East Side's consistent problems with burglary, he thinks having more patrols and more eyes on the street is a good way to fight the problem.
"Patrol, just having more eyes on the street," he said. "Having more people in briefing and having a better response time to burglaries allows us to gather more information and evidence."
A resident of the Broadway-Northeast neighborhood -- Richard Cross -- said he's hoping more patrols can come through his neighborhood. He added that at 82 years-old, he's nervous living in his neighborhood because there is still a burglary issue.
"Just got a note from down the street saying they want to have a weekly meeting with the neighborhood to talk about just that," Cross said. "And who's losing what, and who's doing what."
Despite Cross' complaint, Cunningham still sees the operation as a great success.
"The bottom line is that we've made a couple of big arrests, and I think we'll see, hopefully, a general drop in some of the activity in the area," Cunningham said.
