Law enforcement officers go door-to-door as Cleveland's "V-GRIP" gets under way

Published: Thursday, October 06, 2011, 9:00 PM     Updated: Friday, October 07, 2011, 5:25 AM

By Mark Gillispie, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Fifty law enforcement officers fanned out across neighborhoods on Cleveland's East Side Thursday in the first concentrated effort of the newly established initiative to combat crime and gun violence.

Dubbed V-GRIP -- Violence Gun Reduction and Interdiction Program-- the program will target the city's most-violent criminals and attempt to remove as many firearms as possible off the streets. Mayor Frank Jackson and others announced the multi-agency program Tuesday.

On Thursday, 25 two-person teams went door-to-door talking to residents in Cleveland's 4th Police District. Officials hope that if law enforcement officers canvass an entire neighborhood, residents will feel more comfortable providing information about criminal activity.

Similar efforts have proved successful in other Ohio cities, including Youngstown, Toledo, Sandusky and Lima, officials said.

Law enforcement agencies that participated in Thursday's canvass called "Knock and Talks," included Cleveland police, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office, Ohio Highway Patrol and U.S. Border Patrol.