Police officers have been part of the crowd at most of the major events over the last four months in the city's Flanigan Park.
Their presence at the park off Walnut Street and Little League Boulevard has been possible because of money forfeited by local drug dealers and made available to the Bureau of Police by the Lycoming County District Attorney's Office.
Between April and the end of August, two officers usually were assigned to park events expected to draw large numbers of people.
The events ranged from the Community Alliance for Progressive Positive Action's summer youth basketball program and Little League Baseball All Star games to community events sponsored by the nearby Campbell Street Family and Youth Center.
Sgt. Brett Williams coordinated the police presence and described the feedback from neighborhood residents as overwhelmingly positive.
The police used the events to meet and greet the people of the neighborhood, and Williams said their mere presence seemed to deter the "bad element" that sometimes causes problems at the park.
Troublemakers and known drug dealers would disappear when officers arrived, he said.
The park has been tagged with a troubled reputation since a fatal shooting on its basketball court several years back, and the goal is to resuscitate its reputation and deter drug dealing and other illegal activity from occurring in or near the park.
This past summer's effort seems to have been appreciated.
Bruce White, coordinator of CAPPA's summer youth basketball and gang prevention programs, wrote to Police Chief Gregory Foresman in August to express appreciation for the police presence.
According to White, the officers aided the effort to have a "safe, structured and incident-free summer program."
"It's comforting to know that we live in a community where local police take time out of their busy and hectic schedules to proactively build community relations," he wrote.
According to Williams, the officers had an impact because, during the games and events they attended, there were no arrests simply because "none were necessary."
"It's a friendly, community-oriented police presence," he explained.
The program was to end in August, but County Det. William Weber informed Williams Wednesday that District Attorney Eric Linhardt had authorized funding to carry it through the fall and the youth football season at neighboring Roundhouse Field.
To date, the county has provided about $8,000 for the hours worked by the officers assigned after their regular shifts to cover events in Flanigan Park.
Use of drug forfeiture money has restrictions, and Flanigan Park qualified because of the surrounding neighborhood's crime rate and the proximity of illegal drug activity.
Other uses for the money have included police training and purchase of surveillance equipment used by the local drug task force.
