ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Newly-elected Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels continued to make good on his campaign promise to connect with the people who live in his community by holding a neighborhood walk Friday.
Daniels and many of his deputies hit the streets on foot beginning at 4 p.m. to meet and greet residents of the Cheswick Oaks neighborhood in Orange Park.
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Community policing -- a practice that is also used by agencies across the country -- is all about forming a bridge and having an open line of communication between law enforcement officers and the community they serve, Daniels said.
He believes that the best way to do that is by coming to neighborhoods and listening to residents' concerns and hear their suggestions about how to tackle crime.
RELATED: Sheriff connects with Orange Park residents during community walk
Daniels told News4Jax that last month's walk in the Tanglewood neighborhood was very successful because he was able to get information directly from the residents about the various problems affecting them.
"“They talked about the No. 1 thing: Speeding in the neighborhood," Daniels said. "Second was the perception that there was narcotics activity in their neighborhood, and that’s a valid concern for the last neighborhood that we did a walk in. The third was quality of life issues, like an overgrown yard at the house that no one resides in. I can’t control that piece, but I can address the traffic and narcotic issues.”
The sheriff plans to hold the the community walk event once a month for the rest of the year in different neighborhoods throughout the county.