Evening time–a time where many finally leave work, go home, put their feet on the couch and watch a little TV.

This evening, however, Selma Police Chief Robert Green won’t enjoy the luxury of a TV set. He won’t get a few extra hours of sleep.

Tonight, a Friday night, out of all nights, Green will be out on patrol, patrolling the streets with his officers, breaking up fights, arresting dangerous criminals, hunting down those who think they are above the law.

It is something Green hasn’t done in many years, ever since being promoted from an officer, to an assistant police chief and eventually to chief of police.

But, despite the rigors of the job, it is something he is “really looking forward to.”

It all begins at 6 p.m. as Green enters his patrol car.

The first stop — GWC homes, the largest housing complex in Selma. It is a place notorious for crimes, a place where fights occur on a regular basis and worst of all, a place where police officers have even been assaulted, says Green.

“When there is a fight here, sometimes you’ll see 300 people out here in no time,” Green says. “Our officers are frequently out here patrolling the area, breaking up fights.”

Driving through GWC, one sees many of the residents staring at the police car — there are smiles on the faces of some, but on others one can see looks of suspicion, some wondering, perhaps, what “may be going down” next at GWC.

Earlier this year, police officers were assaulted at GWC by a group of youth, who Green says are notorious for being involved in much of the crime throughout Selma.

Several members of the Stallworth family, along with other names, like Ronald Fitts, are names which appeared on police reports regularly, says Green.

Tyron and Jarron Stallworth, along with Fitts, recently had their bonds revoked after being arrested for several shooting incidents, which occurred in this area.

Although Green says he is glad to see these youth finally off Selma’s streets, he says he is unsure of whether or not prison will “really do them any good.”

“Three years in prison, and what happens is that these youth adapt to the prison culture and become a part of prison culture,” says Green, who besides being a police chief also teaches courses on criminal justice at Wallace Community College.

“The problem is it is difficult to rehabilitate these types of individuals because that is the only life they seem to know.”

Adds Green, “If they apply for a job, nobody wants to give them a job. Who wants to take a chance on someone who has been in prison? Most of them just end up going back.”

The next stop, Rangedale Apartments.

Children are busy playing, running up and down the street, some playing basketball on a court nearby. The apartments look slightly worn down, but still people continue to live there, says Green.

Pointing toward the basketball court, Green fondly recalls his days as a patrol officer in Selma, over 20 years ago.

“I remember I used to come out here and walk the streets,” recalls Green. “We even used take some time and play basketball with these kids.”

Says Green with conviction, “The whole purpose really was to show the kids that we aren’t always the enemy — that we are there to help them out. It is something, I think, that police officers really need to take the time to do.”

Driving through the poor areas of East Selma, Green, who remembers growing up and attending school in Selma, comments on the bad condition of the houses, the neighborhoods that now look so dilapidated.

Asked what has led to the poor conditions, Green says its simple. Selma needs more jobs — it needs more business.

“When you don’t have jobs, and businesses are leaving the area, the quality of life really goes down,” says Green. He adds, “The quality of life is proportional to the crime rate. The only way to change this place it to bring new jobs into the area — that is really the only way things will get better.”

Suddenly a call on the scanner – something happening at the intersection of Roosevelt Street and Highway 80.

Green speeds up and zooms over the Edmund Pettus Bridge, pulling into a dirt road

at the intersection where a few police officers are busy talking to a woman and a passenger in her car.

The passenger, says Green, is a mental patient, while the woman apparently has lost her way, trying to locate a particular street in Selma.

The incident is small, perhaps not even worth mentioning, but Green says police must respond no matter what the call.

“We get so many of these small things, things I wish we didn’t always have to respond to,” he says. Green says he has a solution to the problem, however — telephonic policing.

“The idea here is that we will have somebody in the office who will

respond to these types of incidents and just handle them on the phone. That way it will free up our officers to respond to other things, which really require our attention.”

With a police officer shortage, says Green, efficiency is greatly needed.

“We have about 50 to 60 officers right now, but really, we are supposed to have about 70,” says Green. “We’ll manage with what we have. There are many police departments all over the country with the same types of problems, so I don’t really consider that an excuse.”

It has grown dark. Green peruses the nights clubs hidden in the darkest corners of East Selma. Green is not there for the entertainment, however.

He is busy looking for fights, or even the sound of loud music, disturbing residents in the area.

“There are still so many fights at these clubs,” says Green, driving a little slower. “People getting drunk and then getting into a fight, it’s a pretty regular occurrence.”

“The action usually happens late at night or during the early morning hours,” he said. “I remember when I used to be an officer, I would go into these clubs Friday night, and almost every night you would see something going on there.”

Suddenly while driving at the intersection of Hardie Avenue and

Plant Street, Green stops the car briefly to check his spot light, smiling briefly for a moment.

Looking over out the driver’s side, one sees the new East End Pond that was recently built in Selma. It’s a city project, which some local residents have called a waste of time and energy. But for Green, the pond is something to be treasured — an effort, he says, at making things “a little better” then they were before.

“That pond was built as part of the Weed and Seed program,” Green says. “The idea is to take something bad out of this neighborhood (or weed) and then plant something good there (or seed).”

“I am really glad to see it there,” Green says with a laugh. “It’s something that shows that we really are trying to make a difference.”