By David Eck
Enquirer contributor

NORWOOD - In an effort to crack down on crime in one of the city's most troubled neighborhoods, police officials are opening a police substation in Norwood's western section.

Council agreed Oct. 16 to lease a building at 1766 Mills Ave. for the substation.

The city will pay $500 a month under a two-year contract and staff it with a yet-undetermined number of the police force's current 60 officers.

NORWOOD CRIME

A sampling of serious crime in Norwood (population 21,675), this year through Oct. 25: Assaults: 259 total; 88 of those in west side Burglaries: 215 total; 60 in the west side Juvenile complaints: 552 total; 207 on the west side Robberies/attempted robberies: 60 total; seven of them on west side Calls in city parks: 131 total; 71 in Upper Millcrest and Lower Millcrest parks, both on the west side Source: Norwood Police Department

The substation is expected to be open by the end of November.

"That's the ideal location,'' Norwood Police Chief William Schlie said.

"It's got to be near where most of the trouble is.''

Norwood's west side is home to about 20 percent of the city's population, but typically leads Norwood in some categories of serious crime.

So far this year, 34 percent of assaults in the city, 28 percent of burglaries and 37.5 percent of juvenile complaints came from the west side, police records show.

And the west side is usually among the top areas in the city for calls for service, according to police records.

The west side of Norwood is roughly bounded by Montgomery Road, Williams Avenue, railroad tracks that parallel the Norwood Lateral and Reading Road/Victory Parkway.

The neighborhood has the most violent crimes in the city, including stabbings, drug activity, thefts, assaults and shootings, the chief said.

Increasing police presence in the area has worked in the past, but problems return once police leave, he said.

"You're not getting rid of the problem,'' the chief said. "Hopefully this will improve the quality of living. It will be a full-service police station except for the jail.''

Eventually, officials hope to staff the station 24 hours with officers dedicated to that portion of the city.

Citizens, too, will be trained to answer phones and take police reports.

Volunteers already have offered to paint the inside of the substation and make minor repairs.

Residents have pushed for a police substation for years, with some saying the problems are so bad that people are scared to leave their houses.

"It's going to be a neighborhood endeavor,'' said Margaret Wehmeyer, whose family has lived in Norwood's west side for generations.

"Just the physical appearance of the police station down there is going to be a help to the residents. It gives them a feeling of assurance.''

Norwood Council member Tom Williams agrees.

"I've always felt if we put a Norwood Police Department substation there it'll make the presence felt,'' said Mr. Williams, who spent 34 years as a Norwood police officer. "These punks are not going to control the streets and that's what in some cases has been going on.

"We have elderly women saying, `I'm afraid to go out in my yard.' That stops,'' he said. Police officials say they want to work with other city departments to address rundown properties, litter and condemned buildings.

"The people are very enthusiastic about this,'' Mrs. Wehmeyer said.

"They're willing to get in there and do their part. We're going to have to start cleaning up our streets and making them safe. We want to also then be part of revitalizing and rehabbing the houses.''

E-mail daveck@fuse.net