This is not the first time the police department has done this type of community outreach, a program Chief Andy Jackson calls Know Your Cop, but for a rookie officer like Hunsucker, who has been on the job for a month, it is a valuable part of his training.

“It's definitely a public service,” he said, armed with a stack of papers with phone numbers for citizens to call with various issues. “It helps me learn about the community. It is definitely helpful.”

While the program was just announced during a contentious city council meeting that involved the police department, Jackson said it was in the planning stages three weeks before that meeting. “We've got a lot of new employees. We have employees who are not familiar with the community. Establishing those connections is so important in having good, working relationships.”

Hunsucker shows the flyer.

While the mill village is considered a high crime area in the city, Jackson said, “Just because someone lives in a high crime neighborhood, it doesn't mean everyone living there is a criminal.”

Know Your Cop kicked off this week. It is a no agenda effort, Jackson said. “We don't have warrants in our pockets.”

Walking with Williams and Hunsucker this morning were Jackson, Captain Ozzie Morgan and Mayor Emery Doughtie.

Most of those the officers encountered told them they were doing a good job.

They acknowledged the mill village does have a problem, one woman saying children in the neighborhood tear no trespassing signs down. “They need to be at home at certain times.”

Hunsucker talks to a resident.

Roanoke Rapids does have a curfew in place, Jackson said, one that forbids children under the age of 16 from being out from midnight to 6 the following morning. The exception is jobs, school events or being accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Williams tells one resident, “The more eyes we have the better. If you see anything, feel free to give us a call. You can be anonymous.”

In the early stages of the effort, Jackson said there has been negative feedback on officers being rude and seeming like they don't care. Those matters are addressed, he said, as well as issues that may need to be relayed to public works or code enforcement.

Walking with the officers, Doughtie, who said council plans to tackle the housing issue at its upcoming retreat, said, “I would like to look at securing funding to remove some of the blighted houses if council wishes to do that. If we can remove the blighted houses it would improve the quality of the remaining houses.”