Assistant Chief William McManus and 3rd District Cmdr. Mark Beach, after giving brief speeches, fielded questions about the police department's plan to take a new approach to fighting crime in the neighborhood.
Police plan to be more aggressive and have more presence in the area.
His remarks were greeted with skepticism. To many citizens, Beach's comments sounded too familiar. They said that last week's meeting was just more beating about the bush, with more police rhetoric. Others whispered to themselves as McManus spoke. Many residents, most of whom did not want to be identified because they fear for their safety, spoke about rampant and flagrant criminal activity, such as shootings, open-air drug markets and prostitution.