DALLAS — Police are constantly busy answering service calls across a large metropolitan area like Dallas-Fort Worth.
In the City of Dallas, there are groups of officers who said they are passionate about hitting the streets.
"This is a major city. We get calls like clockwork,” said Officer Lance Delasbour.
Some officers said they are committed to making a difference in neighborhoods each day.
”I grew up in Oak Cliff. I grew up behind the VA hospital. In a single-parent home,” Officer Tiffany Williams explained.
Williams and Delasbour work in Dallas Police Department’s Redbird Outreach Center. They work both patrol and neighborhood-policing assignments. They see and experience a lot.
“The good thing about our unit, is it's almost like the old beat cop,” Delasbour said.
Policing, for some officers, is a mission with personal connection and motivation.
”I believe that this community is often ignored, and I feel that my presence in this community, brings a difference, especially to the young Black girls that see me,” Williams explained.
The officers said they spend most of their day working proactively in the community. They interact with residents and observe what’s going on in the community.
Officers like Williams and Delasbour said they believe community engagement is key. Between service calls, neighborhood police officers - like them - are staying busy, traveling parts of the city and checking in on residents.
“We are here for them. So, it’s at our best that we have a relationship with the community,” Delasbour added.
Neighborhood police are often making stops at local apartment complexes to talk with managers and tenants. They walk the streets and check-in with a variety of neighbors. They’re also making regular stops at local businesses.
“It’s been a tough year. It’s been a tough year,” said Rhonda Stanton, a Dallas residents.
Neighbors like Stanton said they recognize the past year included protests across the country and national calls for police reform. She said building bridges, locally, between community and police can be significant.
“Everything has been more negative towards the officers, but they are still people,” Stanton explained.
Police, in many neighbors’ eyes, are people behind the badge and in uniform, who still recognize there are challenges to building trust.
Delasbour believes images nationally can trickle down and unfairly frame perceptions of local law enforcement.
“There’s a huge distrust issue, but at the same time, there’s more people that trust us than people that don’t,” Delasbour added.
That is why some officers are so focused on building relationships outside the community calls for help.
"There are challenges. But those challenges can always be circumvented by empathy and trust,” Williams said. "So, when you treat people like they are people, they are more likely to be open and honest."
And people are more likely to keep the lines of communication open, while working together in helping keep communities safe.
“The people over here waste no time saying, 'thank you, or we appreciate you.' And that’s pretty refreshing,” Delasbour added.