SAN ANTONIO – It's one of SAPD's top forces: the Problem Oriented Policing unit. And its 40 or so members are tasked to solve problems on a larger scale.
They don't have to answer regular calls, which gives the unit the time to attack the main issues in their neighborhoods, like vacant houses and drug dens.
Their shift starts at 6 p.m., just as the sun goes down over the east side.
KSAT-12 was invited to ride along with officers Jeff Martin and Jessica Aelvoet.
First up, a group of kids were caught stealing a barricade.
The officers talked to people about what happened and started listening to their problems.
That's key to battling crime, they said, and it was tips like that that led to a neighborhood drug house. Officers watched a man on a tandem bike leave the house and pulled him over.
The suspect slyly dropped a small bag of marijuana on the ground - and almost got away with it - until Officer Martin noticed the small stash.
It's a relatively minor catch, but it reaffirms the house is a target. That is information they'll pass along to narcotics investigators. The hope is to shut the house down, improving the street in the process.
Another traffic stop nets lots of marijuana and rolls of cash. The officers said information they get on calls like these is the difference between reactive and proactive police work.
But they can't escape every patrol call. Word gets out that a security guard has been shot and there's a manhunt on for four kids.
Officers Martin and Aelvoet help out for a while until the search is called off.
After that, it's back to the East Side. It's a troubled area for now that the duo and their counterparts are determined to help fix.