Ogden City reforms the crime reduction unit

After two years on the job, the Ogden Police Department and the community it protects are taking a look at the effectiveness of the crime reduction unit formed to tackle Ogden’s central city crime.
In November 2007, the mayor and the Ogden City police met to discuss how to reduce “Part One” crime. Part one crimes include the eight most serious crimes according to the FBI, which include aggravated assault, robbery, vehicular theft, rape and murder.
“We started a crime reduction unit, and it consists of five police officers and one sergeant, who give full-time responsibility to that mission,” said Lt. Mike Ashment, leader of the unit.
This unit focuses on tackling part one crimes around all of Ogden, but specifically targets the city blocks between Washington and Harrison Boulevard and between 20th and 30th St., where crime is historically the most concentrated. 
“In 2008 we had about a 20 percent drop in part one crimes, and in 2009 we had about a 22 percent drop in part one crimes in that area,” Ashment said.
The residents are noticing. Weber State University student Rob Keel, who lives in the targeted blocks, said conditions have improved dramatically in his area.
“I moved about May of 2006, and in the beginning I counted 13 drive-by shootings in about a year-and-a-half time period,” Keel said. “Since late 2007, I haven’t seen or heard any.”
Chris and Elizabeth Graeff, Ogden residents of over 20 years, said they have also noticed a difference. 
“I’ve lived here and seen it when it was saturated with crime,” Chris Graeff said. “I’ve seen it improve, but it’s not where I’d like it to be.”
According to Ashment, the unit’s goals include closely monitoring people recently released on parole, attacking street-level drug dealing and keeping a close watch on gangs.
“Another goal we set was to improve safety and quality of life in that area,” Ashment said. “We feel like driving down the road with your stereo booming and violating the city’s noise ordinance is a quality-of-life issue.”
As part of their objective for improving the safety and quality of life, the unit is likely to issue tickets for traffic violations, such as speeding and playing car stereos louder than the city’s noise ordinance permits. 
“There has definitely been more cops patrolling and pulling people over,” Elizabeth Graeff said.
Elizabeth also noted that, while she notices a marked improvement in crime and traffic violation reduction, she has seen slow response times for minor issues.
“There was a car accident over here on the corner, and it took the cops over four hours to respond,” she said. “And it wasn’t a severe accident, but they were still there for most of the day.”
Ashment responded that incidents like these are typically not part of the unit’s responsibility.
“These guys don’t handle calls for service,” Ashment said. “Their whole day is made up of focusing on specific areas and specific people who contribute to our crime problem.”
As the unit continues to tackle crime, Keel said the efforts are paying off. 
“There have been some neighborhood watches started that have helped as well,” Keel said, “but overall (the crime reduction unit) has been pretty effective in tackling the crime here in Ogden.”