Raleigh Police Chief Harry Dolan will be retiring soon. He leaves behind a legacy of strong leadership in community policing. See News & Observer article here.
Since Habitat Wake began our Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) work in the southeast Raleigh community of Long Acres in 2010, crime has dropped an amazing 52%! We give primary credit to the engaged residents of the community, but right alongside that the diligent efforts of the Raleigh Police Department under the leadership of Chief Dolan!
When we began work in Long Acres, we surveyed residents by going door-to-door with volunteers. We overwhelmingly, and not surprising, found that nearly every resident said that they wanted for the neighborhood to be “safe and quiet”. Long Acres is a long way there with a 52% decrease in two short years. We will miss Chief Dolan’s leadership with his community policing model, but the stage is set in a neighborhood like Long Acres where the residents have become actively engaged.