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RRHA wants to pay off-duty Richmond cops to patrol public housing

Posted at 12:21 AM, Jul 07, 2014
and last updated 2014-07-07 00:21:42-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority has unveiled a plan to keep the the city’s public housing projects safe four months after the agency opted to shutter its  own police force.

RRHA members will go before Richmond City Council members to ask to pay off-duty Richmond police officers to patrol areas like Mosby and Creighton courts.

Council members said the plan would cost taxpayers about $45,000 a month, which would come from current RRHA funding.

That agreement is slated to last just four months.

Some neighbors think the call to shut down the force was a mistake.

“I think getting rid of the police presence was a mistake sometimes in some communities even in the best communities you might see a parked police car and it’s empty and it sits there for months but just to deter criminal behavior,” said Deborah Jones, whose aunt lives in Mosby Court.

City council will debate the issue Monday at 5 p.m.

A neighborhood watch program in partnership with the RPD is also slated to begin soon.

Depend on CBS 6 News for continuing coverage of this important local story. 

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