TBONE Program steps up help Shreveport neighborhoods - KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather & Sports

Anti-crime program kicks off for cleaner, safer Shreveport neighborhoods

Posted: Updated: Sep 12, 2012 01:07 PM CDT
By Emily Black - email
SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) -

The TBONE, or "Taking Back Our Neighborhood Everyday" program, kicked off for the fifth year Wednesday. Their ultimate vision is to reduce crime and make Shreveport a stronger city. They have used the TBONE program for 5 years, but this year will be a little different.

"We've received a lot of complaints from citizens regarding trash that's been left, grass and everything" Dorothy Farnell , the interim director for TBONE, says. This year she is taking a more aggressive approach to the program.  "I've added more departments so today we have NAT the Neighborhood Assistance Team, we have our community response units that's going to be working with us, we have public works" Farnell says.

The crews found inoperable cars, trash and tires in front yards, and even a cited house. "What happens a lot of the time is they'll end up posting it, they'll board it up, but you'll be able to see by going to the back of the house which is why the police department gets involved" Cpl Robert Elliott says. Elliott shows us the broken backdoor laying on the floor inside the house and the rooms full of mattresses and trash. "Likely to come in here and find all kinds of drug paraphernalia, you know stolen merchandise stuff like that. Things like this is what we're trying to prevent from happening by doing these property sweeps" Elliott says.

Just like on Wednesday morning, officers and Property Standards come by these houses periodically to make sure they are secure, or to make them secure once again. "Part of it is to clean up blight in the neighborhoods but it's also to prevent from the criminal element from having a place to go and hide" Elliott says. Elliott adds that the best way to prevent crime in your neighborhood is to just call them if you see anyone hanging around a boarded up house. Once a house is boarded up by Property Standards, no one is allowed on that property and police have the right to arrest.

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