Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous began Wilmington City Council’s Tuesday, Sept. 16, meeting by updating council on police community relations and crisis response protocols.
Evangelous said WPD officers received 32 hours of in-service training in 2013 for issues related to community relations and crisis response, eight hours more than the state-mandated 24 hours of annual training. The specific training programs included juvenile minority sensitivity training and Critical Incident Training.
Effective April 2014, Evangelous said officers also complete training courses in crisis intervention for first responders, less than lethal training, and on-duty specialized training about hostage rescue tactics, high-risk traffic stops and suicidal subjects.
Encouraging diversity within the ranks of the WPD also helps the department’s community relations efforts, but Evangelous said finding female and minority officers continues to be a struggle.
The city of Wilmington’s population of 112,067 is 48 percent male, 71 percent Caucasian, 20 percent African American and 10 percent other races. By comparison, the WPD’s 261 officers are 74 percent male, 80 percent Caucasian, 16 percent African American and 3 percent other races.
While WPD continues to struggle to recruit female and minority officers, Evangelous said the problem is not unique to Wilmington and is an issue for law enforcement agencies nationwide.
One new community relation tool WPD will launch in October is The Law and You program designed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and Allstate Insurance.
Evangelous said the program would consist of guidelines for interacting with law enforcement officers and information on citizen’s rights.
RoadworkÂ
Council also approved several roadway projects, including the 17th Street Streetscape Project and resurfacing Racine Drive, and Covil and Darlington avenues.
The 17th Street Streetscape Project will encompass the stretch of 17th Street from Dawson Street to just north of Market Street. The scope of work for the entire project will include the construction of vertical curb extensions, traffic calming devices, concrete sidewalks, pedestrian improvements and landscaping with a pocket park at the corner of 17th Street and Wrightsville Avenue. The estimated $706,000 project will also include the resurfacing of 17th Street from Dawson Street to Princess Place Drive.
Awarding the contract for the estimated $2.5 million resurfacing of Racine Drive, and Covil and Darlington avenues to Highland Paving Inc. was unanimously approved by city council. This is the third major resurfacing project included in the city’s Five Year Roadway Improvement Project and funding was available in the project fund.
Wilmington director of public services Richard King said Racine Drive and Covil Avenue are two of the most traveled roadways in the city as indicated by Average Daily Traffic count information.
The project will begin mid-October and resurface 4.5 lane miles of city streets.
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