SPRINGFIELD, MA (WSHM) -
You don't need to ask what state police trooper Luis Rodriguez's strengths are. All you need to do is take a walk through Springfield's North End and watch him telling jokes, deep in conversation with the people who call this neighborhood home.
"I use that God-given ability and I'm using it to benefit this community," Rodriguez said.
He is just one of the dozens of officers, both state and Springfield, that are using a method straight out of Iraq to get to the heart of the North End's rampant crime.
But this method doesn't involve force, interrogation or scare tactics. It starts with conversations just like the ones Rodriguez and his fellow officers have every day with residents from the neighborhood.
"My primary task is to come here, meet the community, be part of the community and just show them that we care," Rodriguez said.
A state police trooper was the one who brought the technique back from Iraq, where terrorist insurgents control entire populations through fear, much like the gangs in the North End. Their idea is to get to know the community, gain their trust and lock up the bad guys.
It's called C-3 policing, or "Counter Criminal Continuum."
"When you look the other way, crime thrives so I fully compliment those people that do the right thing, which isn't necessarily the easy thing," said Lt. Michael Domnarski.
It's a scenario that played out Tuesday night.
Edwin Perez, 24, was reportedly seen by witnesses with a gun in his hand in the North End.
When police arrived, Perez, who had a baby in his lap, allegedly threw it to the ground and ran, while reaching for what turned out to be a loaded gun.
Now he is in jail, facing charges of assault and carrying a stolen firearm among other charges.
It was a witness tip that got Perez locked up.
"I've got to stress that, the community gave us all this information about this one certain character," Rodriguez said.
So far, the technique is working.
Now, troopers doing C-3 policing are becoming familiar faces to people here. That leads to tips and arrests and in just the last few years, the North End has seen a 68 percent dip in crime.
"People want to move back into the neighborhood, they really see the difference that we are coming together," said Jose Claudio, resident and member of the New North Citizens' Council.
"That sense of pride, that's what we're looking to instill," Rodriguez said.
The C-3 policing is a joint effort with state and local police. It is now being touted across the country for its success.
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