OMAHA, Neb (KMTV) - Recently we told you a story about deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff's office responding to concerns about fast drivers in the Mandan Park neighborhood in South Omaha. The sheriff's department wants neighbors to know about an effort underway that focused on quality-of-life complaints in Douglas County.
- Community Action team responds to neighbor's quality of life concerns
- 62% of participants UNO's study say there's traffic problems in the County
- Video shows deputies on the CAT team in action
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
From speeding in South Omaha to pan-handling in West Omaha; a specialized team of officers within the Douglas County Sheriff's Office are ready to respond to what they call quality of life issues in neighborhoods across the county.
Aaron Hanson is Sheriff in Douglas County.
"Community action, team or the CAT team for the Douglas County Sheriff's Office; it's essentially a public safety force multiplier, not only for our road patrol deputies out in the western part of the county, but also for the public all across county," says Hanson.
The goal to focus on those non-emergency calls when they can.
"If they have time between their normal duties, their job is to be responsive to quality of life, concerns, or needs anywhere in the county," he says.
Sheriff Hanson tells us, a study done by University of Nebraska Omaha helped shine a light on the issues people in Douglas County say are important and impacting their lives. For example 62% of study participants pointed to traffic problems.
"Far away, the concern was driving behavior; reckless driving speeding and how that impacts people safety," says Hanson.
In early April, I was there as deputies responded to complaints by homeowners in one South Omaha neighborhood, about speeding in front of their home.
It's one of the many calls they're responding to; stressing that it doesn't matter where the issue is, if it's in Douglas County, they're ready to respond.
"If we we can be helpful to them and help fill in the blanks with with those quality of life concern efforts we're happy to do that," he says.
If you have a traffic or quality of life concern and you believe the sheriff's office can help, you can contact the DCSO Community Action Team at dcsocat@douglascounty-ne.gov.
