Zone C Group meets for the first time

Marshall Police Department hosts first meeting for newly established community policing program

KLTV
By Lauren Tear
Published: July18, 2023 at 9:06 PM GMT-7

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - On Tuesday evening, residents of the East Texas city of Marshall attended a meeting about a new community policing program that is being established in a northeast-east part of the city.

To increase community involvement and improve communication between police and residents, the Marshall Police Department is hosting these meetings in different zones.

The city is split into five zones – A, B, C, D, and Downtown.

Zone C had its first meeting at the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, where they heard remarks from several officers, including Chief of Police Cliff Carruth. The basis of a community policing group is to teach residents how to efficiently respond to crime while also helping to prevent it by always communicating problems with the police.

This includes anything from reporting car burglaries to reporting a broken street light. Chief Carruth says, “Really, if you see something suspicious, how do you report that in a way that gives us the best chance of stopping whatever that suspicious activity is, so it’s training, it’s communicating, and it’s coming up with more effective ways to do that.”

He also says he has confidence a program like this could be a positive change in any city.

Community members, like Jim Bates, were also able to offer any comments and ask questions.

“It’s important, I think, that we engage our police department and realize that they’re not our enemies, they’re our friends,” Bates says, “I’m interested in that type of security and supporting our police department as well as creating some safety for our neighborhoods.”

The downtown zone is next on the list to be established.

As for now, the Zone C group is tasked with formally organizing, scheduling future meetings and recruiting others to learn about the police department and how to help them keep the community safe.