INC NEWS - Bill Anderson -- 'A one-man crime stopper'

[Melissa Rooney]

Loved reading about Bill Anderson in the N&O's Durham
News section today -- thought I'd send it to the
listserv for those of you who may not have seen it
(see below).

It's worth viewing the article on the N&O site to see
all the big photos of Bill they used:
http://www.newsobserver.com/978/story/918926.html

Thanks, Bill, for all you do for Durham :)
Melissa

Melissa Rooney
Fairfield Nbhd
mmr121570 at yahoo.com
_________

A one-man crime stopper
Elizabeth Shestak, Correspondent
Published: Feb 02, 2008 12:30 AM
Modified: Feb 02, 2008 02:43 AM


For a few hours one afternoon this week, Bill Anderson
patrolled what he calls the Beaver Pond, the
neighborhood surrounding the Durham Plaza Shopping
Center. He checked for trespassers, illegally dumped
trash and loitering drug dealers on the corner of
Roxboro Road and Club Boulevard.

The most exciting part of the afternoon happened when
Anderson chased down a teenage girl who had just
stolen some snack dip, muttering, "I hate crime," as
he drove around the corner.

When he found her, the dip had already been
repossessed by store workers, but he felt inclined to
make a point and said out his window, "Kindly refrain
from doing that." The teen said OK, and hurried away.

Knowing the thief was a young woman wielding a bag of
chips did not make much difference to Anderson. He's
been known to confront drug dealers, belligerent
drunks and anyone else who brings down the quality of
life for everyone else.

He is not a police officer, nor is he a city employee
paid to monitor code violations and illegal activity.
He is simply a citizen who takes his job as a member
of the community seriously, working with the police
and city departments to get things done.

If he sees something illegal going on, he tries
diplomacy first by asking dealers to leave the area or
directing panhandlers to rescue missions.

But often these encounters result in an arrest.
Anderson says he has participated in about four dozen
arrests in the Beaver Pond area in the last 18 months,
volunteering around 1,000 hours.

The results are clear. Seedy businesses are on their
way out, a drug-dealing family was driven away, and
illegal dumping has nearly ceased due to his detective
work bringing in fraudulent haul-for-hire companies.
Thanks to Anderson's patrolling, the Beaver Pond is
now pretty tame -- but he'll take boring any day over
what that area used to be.

Anderson now has his sights set on a new area around
Gurley Street in Old North Durham.

A drive through that neighborhood shows that it could
use his help. On a recent evening, the corners were
full of young men standing around, waiting to make a
deal as they sought eye contact with those brave
enough to drive through. All of this happened with a
Durham police officer in plain sight, her patrol car
perched atop a hill in the hopes of discouraging
illegal activity.

Anderson yelled out his car window to the police
officer that he was going to take the neighborhood
back -- a phrase he uses often, with spirit and
conviction. His track record shows that when he sets
his mind to a goal, he doesn't let much stand in his
way -- even if it means putting himself in some
dangerous situations.

Crime's 'go-to guru'

Anderson, 50, has had a number of jobs over the years,
ranging from professional skydiver to coin collection
liquidator. He recently passed his real estate exam
and joined Seagroves Realty, where he hopes to sell
homes to responsible homeowners in areas where a
difference could be made.

He also spent a number of years working for Durham's
Council for Senior Citizens, helping bring to life the
senior center located in downtown. The elderly have a
special place in his heart -- he hates to think of
little old ladies trapped in their houses because they
are afraid of what awaits them outside.

His neighbors in Duke Park, Robert and Mildred
Michael, built their house in 1956 and witnessed their
neighborhood's decline in the years that followed.
About 15 years ago, Anderson worked with the police to
drive out some of the tenants that were blighting the
neighborhood. The Michaels thank Anderson -- they feel
safe again with their drug-dealing neighbors gone.

Anderson, a feisty chain-smoker, started his
patrolling 20 years ago with a focus on illegal
dumping and sign-posting -- they simply irked him, and
he felt compelled to take action. He would drive
around town with his wife and two children, and they
would hop out at intersections to rip down illegal
signs. To catch dumpers, he began locating the guilty
parties by finding out who the trash belonged to and
whom they had paid to remove it.

Mitchell Archer, neighborhood improvement services
manager for the city, has worked with Anderson for
more than a decade and finds him highly effective.

Anderson's neighbors, Archer said, "seek him out as
being the go-to guru because he will find the time to
investigate and find out how blight came about. ...
He'll put forth an effort to contact the right
department to get things moving."

Working together, Archer said they managed to rid the
Partners Against Crime District 2, a community crime
watch organization, of abandoned grocery carts for the
month of December -- a first. At a recent PAC2
meeting, Anderson nominated himself co-chair, and was
quickly seconded. He has also served as president of
the Inter-Neighborhood Council of Durham, and speaks
at neighborhood association meetings across the city
about ways to build community, such as utilizing the
listservs and busting neighborhood nuisances.

The police applaud his efforts and recently presented
him with a plaque to thank him for his help ridding
the Beaver Pond of a drug house. Sgt. Dale Gunter has
worked closely with Anderson -- he is one of the many
officers Anderson calls directly. "He saves us a
tremendous amount of time," Gunter said.

Dangerous, but worth it

When asked why he never became a law enforcement
officer, Anderson says he'd rather play the part of a
citizen -- he feels more comfortable that way,
independent from a bureaucracy.

He also insists that he's not alone, and that you'd be
surprised how many private citizens are active in
preserving the community. Even though he's been
chased, had rocks thrown at him and has been called
names on numerous occasions, it's all worth it to him
if property values improve, people feel secure and
neighbors reach out to one another.

Michael Lyons, 49, grew up in the Gurley Street
neighborhood Anderson is targeting for cleanup. "We
[used to] sleep on the porch," Lyons said, but now
"it's worse than bad -- it's terrible."

He's thrilled that the area could be coming around
soon. "I'm definitely going to tell the elders," he
said.

eshestak at mac.com



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