In just a little over two months as chief of the Wadesboro Police Department, Janie Schutz says she's seen more criminal activity than in her entire 21 years in law enforcement. But instead of feeling daunted by the problem, Chief Schutz is proposing a solution.

The chief, along with Captain Thedis Spencer, hosted a meeting with the Wadesboro community— particularly the Salisbury Street neighborhood— at Kesler Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church last Thursday, May 14. About 20-30 local citizens attended the meeting, which Schutz said she had wanted to hold since she officially started as chief March 1.

"I wanted this meeting and I wanted it quickly," she said. "I want to take what we're doing here and take it to other areas of the community."

Schutz vowed that "a happening is coming to Wadesboro." She explained that the problems in the community need to be brought forward and "the only way to solve these problems is through this type of meeting."

The problems Schutz referred to include an increase in drug activity, particularly on Salisbury Street, which has led to several cases to violent crime.

Schutz promised that under her leadership, the Wadesboro Police Department will make a positive difference. "The thing I've heard the most since I've been here— not only from my officers but members of the community— is that things that I have done, said or acted upon have not been done in the past. And I can't tell you why. Sometimes I feel like I need to apologize that things have not gone the way they should have gone in the past.

"The past is strictly the past," she added. "My heart is to say that we ought to be able to walk on the street in Salisbury without any fear that something could go wrong. And right now, we don't have that."

Schutz stressed that the only way the community will change is for the residents of the community and the police both to be proactive.

The chief herself has been proactive already, making friends in the area called "the lower projects," even introducing them to her daughter. "They appreciate the fact that I've taken the time to do that," she said.

She told the audience at the meeting that she wants Salisbury Street back. "We are not just asking; we're going to take it back," Schutz said, admitting that some of the "bad guys" will challenge what she says. That thought, she said, led her to realize "at some point in this community, it's going to take a hero... to step up and say 'enough is enough.'"

She encouraged those present to call the police department and speak with her personally if they witness a crime—and to tell their neighbors to do the same. "If we're going to have the bad guys put away on solid charges, we're going to need someone brave enough to go to court and testify and say, 'This is what I saw,'" she said, adding that as a mother of six, she understands that many who fail to report crimes are trying to protect their families. "But if you want your children to have that quality of life that I'm trying to bring out, someone has to be the hero ... so the police can do our job."

After speaking for a few minutes, Schutz took questions from the audience. After a question from a resident of the Highway 52 community, she said she'd be willing to have similar meetings in other communities in and around Wadesboro.

Another audience member asked about the relationship between the police department and the black community, saying that the two have to have a good relationship in order for this to work.

"The history I'm hearing of Wadesboro ... is we've got the black community and we've got the white community," she said. "What is the problem with one community? I personally don't see in my head what the problem is but I understand history."

Schutz went on to say that the police department is made up of men, women, whites, blacks and so on. "We are an extremely cohesive department," she said. "I don't see any color in my department. ... I am coming at this color-blind."

Schutz finished up by saying that the police department cannot fix the problem on its own. "People have a right to be scared," she added. "But people have to stop being afraid of being a snitch and be a hero."