Officers in Search of Trust : Villa Santiago Beat a Step Toward Rapport With a Neighborhood

ORANGE —  Building up trust starts slowly.

In the case of Orange police officers Dave Hill and Kevin Roberts, newly assigned to walk the beat in the vicinity of the troubled Villa Santiago apartments, earning trust means talking to a lot of children.

The Villa Santiago, at 3138 E. Maple Ave. in the El Modena neighborhood, is where the Border Patrol last year staged a controversial raid that resulted in the deportation of more than 200 people.

Many of the adult residents of the 260-unit apartment complex, formerly known as the Orange Park Villas until it was renamed by the building’s owners last month, flee behind closed doors now when they see any officer approaching, fearful that contact may result in deportation.

But the children have less fear of the officers.

In fact, Hill, who speaks Spanish, and Roberts, who doesn’t, can usually attract a crowd of children simply by handing out packs of gum or police badge stickers that the youngsters can fasten to their clothes or book bags.

And the older children sometimes can tell the police officers about gang activity or drug sales in the neighborhood.

“We’re trying to work with the kids and let the adults see we’re not here to harass them,” Roberts said. “Hopefully, we’ll gain the trust of the adults as well.”

The presence of Hill and Roberts in El Modena is part of a concerted effort by the city of Orange to cut down on calls to the police from the area as well as improve the quality of life for residents and merchants.

“Over the years, police have grown apart from their community because we have become incident driven,” Police Chief John Robertson said. “We don’t take the time to talk to the people to find out what the true problems are in a community. I think the long-range benefits will be tremendous. There will be relationship between the Police Department and the community it serves.”

Robertson was formerly police chief of Garden Grove, a city that has long used community policing. He said he is a strong believer in the effectiveness of community policing for all kinds of neighborhoods.

“One of the key aspects of this type of visibility in this area is foot patrol,” Robertson said. “The officers get to know the people, and the people get to know officers. The officers (get to) know firsthand problems in an area.”

Although the owners of Santiago Villa and city officials have a history of antagonism, the management of the vast complex, which is home to more than 1,000 people, supports the city’s effort in the neighborhood and is making improvements such as removing graffiti.

“We’re making changes to the buildings and trying to change our image to go along with it,” said building co-manager JoEllen Perez, who added that renaming the apartment complex was “a public relations move.”

In August, city officials installed a portable trailer in the parking lot of Albertson’s Food Center, just two blocks from the Villa Santiago apartments, in the hopes that an official presence would show neighborhood residents that city officials care about the problems in the neighborhood.

The trailer is used by city employees from such varied departments as code enforcement, public works and community service when their work brings them into the neighborhood.

Officials at Albertson’s said shoplifting incidents at the market have decreased since the trailer was installed and police began to walk around the neighborhood.

But abandoned Albertson’s shopping carts, used by many residents to carry home shopping bags, still litter the neighborhood.

“They have 20 to 30 shopping carts lying all over the street,” said neighborhood resident Bill Adamo. “It makes it look trashy,”

And other merchants say that even though they remain optimistic about the program’s ultimate success, they have yet to see much of a difference.

Julie Bowen, manager of Key-Rexall Drugs near Albertson’s, said she has observed no decrease in shoplifting incidents at her store since the program began.

Another task facing the officers is winning the trust of El Modena residents who have complained about high crime rates and decreased quality of life in their neighborhood.

One woman, who lives within half a mile of the apartments and asked that her name not be used, said she has doubts that the police presence can make a substantive difference.

“I think there are too many people concentrated in this area,” the woman said. “I don’t know that sending out more police is what it is going to take.”

Roberts and Hill now divide their time between walking the beat in the area near the apartments and also participating in a community policing project in Orange’s old town neighborhood. They answer calls for service in the area they are patrolling, but mainly they talk to people.

“It sounds funny, just going up to people, but people are people and they respond,” Hill said.

Candido Reyes, 24, a Villa Santiago resident for four years, said he supports the new police effort in the neighborhood.

“It’s a good idea because many people are drinking and fighting around here,” Reyes said. “It’s better the way it is now.”

But when asked if he thinks that the continued presence of the officers could break down the layers of mistrust between residents and city officials, Reyes laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I really can’t answer.”