It’s been a busy summer for Troy Police, but they are also working hard to prevent crime.

“You have a department that’s young and eager to do a good job,” said Troy Police Chief Daniel DeWolf. “They have a great work ethic, and they’re out there all the time. They’re really trying hard to make this a safe city.”

The news is filled with the results – when police seized a modified loaded shotgun this past weekend, for example.

People might not notice the officers. They’re plainclothes as well as uniformed, going hard at areas where there’s an uptick in criminal activity.

A new tool is the Sentinel Unit, which is a group of officers who work together all the time.

“In the beginning of the new year with the new administration, the mayor and I spoke about it, and we really wanted to have a street crimes unit reformulated,” said DeWolf. “That was important to me, because if we did that, we could really make a dent in some of the crime.”

“For instance, up in the North Troy area, up on Second Avenue, we had a sting up there for prostitution and johns, and we made several arrests over a two-week period,” said DeWolf. “The officers have also worked downtown and in South Troy, where they’ve made some good weapons and drug arrests. So we feel like it’s a worthwhile effort, and it’s definitely paying dividends.”

The chief says most shootings have been targeted, not random.

He says his department works hard to solve all shootings, including the ones that are not fatal.

They even have a DCJS-funded non-fatal shooting detective sergeant.

“Okay, so the victim doesn’t want to cooperate. We still want to get that bad guy. We still don’t want him to victimize somebody else, so we want to get that gun off the street. That’s what matters,” said DeWolf. “It’s the bigger picture. It’s the people that you’re protecting. It’s not just that one person that’s the victim of that crime. It’s the whole community.”

They’re making a difference because of help from the community, the chief said.

When tips come in through the website, they follow up on them, and they take them seriously, he said.

“They are also viewed by community police and by the detective bureau and by narcotics, and they go through them, and I’ll get emails from those units saying we’ll take care of this, we’ll look into this one,” said the chief. “So it doesn’t have to be one person. It’s like a clearinghouse. It’s going through all of those units all of the time, they’re looking at all of them, and then they try to do something about it.”