CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) -- Paulette Morrison has seen the new Steele Creek police substation rise from the ground up, right outside the window of the salon where she works.
"I think it will make a difference if we have a police station nearby. People will feel comfortable," she said.
Not like the current substation tucked miles away on Shopton Road, behind a gate, and hard to see.
For seven million dollars, the building gives CMPD a much more visible presence. That's the goal.
It was the same goal when city leaders broke ground on Wendover Road for the new Providence substation last year. It's very front and center.
Back then, neighbors told us they hoped it would help cut down on crime.
Some crime numbers seem to go in that direction, if you compare eight months before and after the doors opened. Calls for service concerning gunfire, break-ins, and robberies went down.
Beatties Ford Road is the other example, a new police station a few years ago created more of a police presence in the Metro Division. Soon after it opened, burglaries and vandalism went down.
Just like Steele Creek, the old substations had a distancing effect.
When the new one opens, Paulette expects to get to know the officers.
"I know I'll get some customers. Ill be up there giving out my card."
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