By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – The Buffalo Police Department and Mayor Anthony Masiello unveiled their latest effort in fighting crime Monday morning. It's called "Sweep Clean," a blitz on high crime areas of the city.
"Sweep Clean" zones in on what are considered "hot spot" crime areas. Police Commissioner Rocco Diina says the crack down on crime is an intense effort by his department. Twenty-five Buffalo officers, along with the Operation Impact Team, target various locations. Operation Impact includes federal agents, state and county law enforcement.
"We started long before the summer season," Diina said. "We anticipated problems which are consistent with urban America. We've gotten together. Some of the work of the State Police and Erie County Sheriff's Department is not uniform (patrol) work, but all the help we can get, the better."
"Sweep Clean" also involves officers going door to door in neighborhoods to talk with residents. Commissioner Diina says more and more, the police department is relying on citizens to offer information. He says it is critical in getting guns of the streets of Buffalo.
"From a police perspective, we took more than a thousand guns off the street last year," Diina said. "And with more cooperation from the community in identifying people who are carrying guns, we can take more off."
Diina says the first "Sweep Clean" effort was actually held July 6th in the Towne Gardens Complex where there was a "rash of gun violence." Officers went door-to-door asking residents for help.