ONE MORE TIME

At 8 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 9, 2007, the Escambia Sheriff's Office, county code enforcement and road department launched a surprise 30-day effort to clean up Brownsville, focusing on the area between Mobile Highway and West Jackson Street from W Street to the railroad tracks west of Citrus Street. Records showed that area had 89 arrests during the previous six months.

Fed up with the shootings, prostitutes and drug dealers, Sheriff Ron McNesby vowed to clean up Brownsville and make it safe. He parked his mobile command center at Brownsville Assembly of God, and his helicopters circled over the area night and day. The sheriff pledged to have no fewer than five cars on at all times in the 40-block area during Operation Brownsville.

The statistics for the first day were impressive. Jail road crews cleared 6 miles of rightof-way. A crack house on Theresa Street was demolished, and the sheriff reported he had scheduled hearings to remove 14 more. The sheriff's office made two traffic stops, six arrests and 10 warrant service attempts. Code enforcement issued 216 notices of violation.

The PNJ editorial board commended McNesby for launching Operation Brownsville, noting "a little shock treatment." In its Saturday, Feb. 20, 2007, editorial ("Yes, Virginia, the News Journal once wrote editorials), the 11-person editorial board was cautiously optimistic.

"Escambia Sheriff Ron McNesby has the 30-day neighborhood rescue operation something of an experiment," the editorial board said. "If it works here, it could be emulated around the county (not to mention the country).

We know now that Operation Brownsville was neither sustainable nor scalable and may have led to McNesby's defeat the following year. Why? No research was ever done to find out, but my thoughts are the 2007 effort was about making a big splash and thinking that alone would be enough. The underlying causes—poverty, lack of good jobs, poor health conditions and failing schools—were not addressed.

Last week, Sheriff Chip Simmons announced his version of Operation Brownsville. He's not

White Collar Crimes

springing it on the neighborhood like McNesby, and his people have been working behind the scenes to involve several local agencies in the effort. However, we don't know the specific details other than it will last 60 days, produce a resource guide and increase the presence of emergency response services, code enforcement and animal control in the community.

We don't know what law enforcement's role will be in what we're calling "Operation Brownsville 2.0." More patrols, arrests, traffic stops and warrants? And will the sheriff's office communicate its efforts? How will success be measured? And what happens after Operation Brownsville ends?

Please don't think my comments mean Sheriff Simmons and city and county officials shouldn't focus on Brownsville. For the past several months, we have advocated for more help for the 32505 ZIP code and have tried to get the Escambia Children's Trust to understand many of the learning gaps in the county exist there.

There is more hope in Brownsville today than 16 years ago. The Brownsville Community Center, near where McNesby once parked his mobile command center, has become an excellent resource for the community, providing afterschool, fitness, job training and summer youth employment programs. Commissioner May has plans to add a public library on land purchased near the community center.

Community Health Northwest Florida has renovated the old Allie Yniestra Elementary School on West Jackson Street into its main campus and provides health care to many who haven't had access to medical services for years. The health care is within walking distance for Brownsville residents.

The city and county want to revitalize West Jackson Street between A Street and Fairfield Drive. Last year, they sought public input for a master plan that would include sidewalks, crosswalks, improved street lighting and bike lanes.

Operation Brownsville 2.0 needs to build on these programs while making the neighborhoods safer. If we see the initiative as a beginning, not a short-term fix, the initiative might be sustainable and scalable this time. {in} rick@inweekly.net