VCSO highlights neighborhood based policing program

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office community based policing program has been a big success since it launched last year.

The initiative assigns one deputy to one area of the county.

“It’s about putting a face to the sheriff’s office,” said Sheriff Noah Robinson. “And holding individual deputies accountable for the crimes and activities that go on in their particular zone.”

Sheriff Robinson says his office split the county into these 32 zones, and assigned a deputy to each one.

Now a deputy attends neighborhood meetings, gets to know residents, and has a phone number specifically for those people to reach them.

[Previous story: VCSO launches community based policing program]

“You can call that deputy or send that deputy a text message,” Robinson said. “The idea is to have a low barrier of entry to have contact with the sheriff’s office.”

Robinson believes this program makes it easier to help the community with the small things, like a neighborhood problem or an abandoned vehicle.

He says the deputies have bought into the idea, too.

“It gives them something to always go back to,” Robinson said. “If I’ve got a free hour here, I’m going to hit that subdivision right now. I’m going to talk to Mrs. Jones over there on whatever street and talk to her about an issue. I’ve got a little extra time here, I’m going to go take care of an issue in my subdivision.”

And Robinson’s hope is to continue refining the program, making it better for the community. He says those small changes are what community based policing is all about.

“This was never about fundamentally changing the way the sheriff’s office does business, we’ve always done community policing. It was about taking it incrementally to the next level,” he said.

If you live in Vanderburgh County and want to find your zone and assigned deputy, click HERE.

Copyright 2025 WFIE. All rights reserved.