NEW CASTLE Officials fear end of funds for public housing patrols

Officials say that regular patrol officers will have to do the duty formerly done by officers paid with the grant.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- There was a time when drugs were sold openly, and it wasn't uncommon for brawls to break out in the city's public housing.
But over the past several years, patrols that randomly go through the pubic housing units from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. daily, on foot and by car, have helped to cut down on those problems.
Those patrols, however, are in danger of ending in July. The federal government is considering budget cutbacks and might end the programs that pay for the patrols.
Mayor's request: Mayor Timothy Fulkerson has asked city council to pass an ordinance supporting the funding. It is expected to vote next week on the ordinance, which will then be sent to the city's congressional representatives.
The Lawrence County Housing Authority, through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, received $221,000 the past two years for the extra patrols and other programs, said Robert Evanick, authority executive director.
Without the money, there would be fewer police on the streets after July, he said.
Patrols that go through the public housing each night are on overtime, which is paid through the grant.
Calls each month: City police average about 200 calls each month from the public and private low-income housing units in the city, according to New Castle Police Chief Victor Cubellis.
Regular patrols will have to answer complaints after the grant runs out, making it more difficult to watch other areas of the city, he said.
Cubellis believes that since putting the public housing patrols out several years ago, there has been less crime in those areas.
"I think it's helped eliminate some of the drug traffic. It seems that calls on disorderly type of behavior have also diminished," he said.
On recent patrol: On a public housing patrol last week, officers driving through the Sciota Street Public Housing Complex on the city's south side spotted a man near a car who ran off when he saw police.
They followed but didn't catch him. They later determined the car belonged to someone in a nearby church and suspect the man was trying to enter it.
It's that type of police presence that won't be around if funding is eliminated and the regular patrols end, police officers say.
"The majority of the residents are glad to see us," said New Castle Sgt. Christopher Bouy & eacute;, who along with Officer Robert Salem pulled duty patrolling the public housing units last week.
"When I started working here in 1993 there was horrible drug activity," Bouy & eacute; said. "You couldn't drive down the street without someone approaching you to buy drugs. We have it under control now, but who knows what's going to happen."
In Ellwood: Ellwood City Police Chief William Betz said his department also will have to spend less time in that borough's public housing complex, Walnut Ridge, if the federal funding is cut.
Officers there patrol on foot and by car and offer crime prevention programs, he said.
"The benefit, I feel, is that it precludes problems just by having police present. We used to have many calls for disorderly type behavior, but that seems to have diminished since we've had regular patrols," Betz said.
The National League of Cities estimates it will take about $3 billion to keep extra police patrols in public housing across the nation over the next few years, Fulkerson said.
cioffi@vindy.com