In more than 50 years living on Grove Avenue, William J. Cox can recall only one time when he was a victim of a crime: Some teenagers, he said, snuck into his house more than three decades ago and stole a jar of pennies.
"They threw my socks all over the place," recalled Cox, who lives a few blocks west of the Boulevard in Richmond.
Cox's home was one of several stops for Richmond police officers as they toured the Museum District on Monday evening to introduce themselves to residents, listen to their complaints and pass along crime-prevention tips.
"It's a real safe neighborhood," said Richmond police Lt. Edward Capriglione, one of the more than three dozen police officials to take part in the neighborhood walk.
Not a single violent crime has been reported this year in the Museum District, Capriglione said. The neighborhood, however, has seen a rash of 11 car break-ins or thefts from unlocked vehicles reported in 2012, compared with only one such incident during the same period last year, Capriglione said.
A majority of the larcenies occurred at night. In about half the cases, bricks were used to break into the cars, Capriglione said. Electronic devices such as laptops, iPods and cellphones were stolen. Some items apparently had been left in plain view in the vehicles.
Capriglione said two burglaries have been reported this year in the neighborhood, compared with three over the same period last year.
Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood, an advocate of community policing, joined his officers on Monday's walk, as he often does when officers hold similar community walks throughout the city. Also along on Monday was Richmond Fire Chief Robert Creecy, a longtime resident of the neighborhood.
The participating police officers divided into groups and spread out around the neighborhood to knock on doors. Then they reconvened to discuss the feedback they received.
Residents watched the officers curiously as they took to the sidewalks.
"Is something going on? Is something happening?" one resident asked as he answered his door to find police on his doorstep.
Residents said they appreciate the police presence. Karen Bowles said she was pleased to learn that she can call the police and ask them to watch her house when she goes on vacation.
"I think it's fabulous," said Bowles, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1990. "I've never been scared here."
The residents' concerns ran the gamut. One elderly woman complained that her neighbor was not keeping his bushes well-trimmed and that she had fallen into them and hurt her hand. Drunk people in an alley were a concern, as were a damaged light bulb, potholes in an alley and people putting up fliers but failing to take them down. One woman complained that she had seen "kids looking in windows after school."
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