Special enforcement's been paying off in the district of Rock Island for the past year after a police unit has been watching over the area. It's provided a peace of mind to those live and work there.
The streets of downtown Rock Island are quiet, a comforting sound for businesses.
"We're not seeing the fights anymore," said Mama Compton's owner, Psyindy Compton-Muse.
For the past year the Rock Island Police Department has focused on ending some of the consistent problems in that area.
"When we looked at the numbers we seen a lot of disturbances, a lot of fights, things of that nature," said Rock Island Police Chief Jeff VenHuizen.
So the police department created the District Patrol Unit. It's made up of four officers who patrol the area all day long, every day.
"We wanted to create a unit that was going to take ownership, responsibility in the downtown that there's going to be consistent enforcement," said chief VenHuizen.
Since the start of the unit, significant changes have happened. Fights and assaults are down by 60 percent, disturbances are down by 73 percent and burglaries are down by 69 percent.
"It's just nice to know that we've have someone that is literally just a phone call away," said Compton-Muse.
Also making an impact, a city ordinance setting a curfew in the district for anyone under the age of 21 on the weekends.
"They're checking IDs. They're making sure the plaza is safe," said Compton-Muse.
Another piece that helped increase crime was closing down bars with liquor license violations.
"It certainly has sent a message to business owners that unruly behavior is not going to be tolerated and that we expect you to run a clean business," said chief VenHuizen.
It's a first step in putting the District's bad reputation behind it, while getting back to business.
"We're seeing more and more people walking around in the district and enjoying what we have to offer." said Compton-Muse.
Over time fewer were calls overall are coming into the district patrol office, they're down by about 21 percent.