Panhandling, shoplifting and counterfeit cash. These issues have been raised to authorities by some Thomasville companies final yr.
Now a brand new substation downtown is increasing police presence, lowering crime and in addition offering progress alternative for the way forward for downtown Thomasville.
“People to not want to come in and stay and shop as much or they would feel uncomfortable out on the sidewalk when they would leave the store,” stated Kelli Barnes, proprietor of Spence and Lane Boutique.
Barnes stated panhandlers sleeping on benches and asking folks for cash would preserve consumers from coming into her retailer off Broad Street.
Now with a brand new downtown officer patrolling the world, she stated she would not have to fret about it anymore. “Now that we have the presence of Joey patrolling the streets, everybody is much more comfortable,” stated Barnes.
Joey Blackburn, the brand new downtown officer for the Thomasville Police Department Substation, stated he would usually see round 20 panhandlers when he first began patrolling the world. After giving out warnings and trespassing citations, he stated that quantity has gone down since November.
“I don’t know if word got out, which I’m sure people communicate, so word gets out, and they’ll know there’s going to be zero tolerance,” stated Blackburn.
It’s a change that brings a little bit of aid to Bonnie Hayes, the Director for Tourism Development for City of Thomasville.
She stated having Officer Blackburn’s presence will increase safety not solely for native companies, however vacationers as nicely. “Our visitors can freely walk during the day and the night back and forth from the downtown to the area, our parking area, and feel super safe and we just have a sense of relief having him here,” stated Hayes.
When it involves defending consumers and guests, Blackburn says “just to know that I guess I’m the one making a difference for them because I’m the face of the police department for the downtown merchants.”
Making a distinction by the substation. That’s what Hayes stated is a step in the appropriate route for future progress of the downtown space.
“You see a police car and then you see a police officer and then you look around and it definitely would give you a sense of comfort and you would know, okay if I want to bring a business here, you know they’ve got a police presence that’s readily and handily available,” stated Hayes.
Blackburn stated that he’s the one officer assigned to the downtown substation proper now, however as the world continues to develop and extra companies come in, they will seemingly add extra officers.