WECT TV6-WECT.com:News, weather & sports Wilmington, NC WPD Chief: Media is not to blame for negative perception of downtown

WPD Chief: Media is not to blame for negative perception of downtown

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – Earlier this week Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous put an end to the question, "What is downtown Wilmington?"  At the same time, he seemingly blamed the media for residents' negative perception of the area.

Friday, the police chief said the media is not to blame for the bad perception and that it is very important.

"I'm not blaming the media for doing their job," said Evangelous.   "You're just doing your job. Your perception is driven by the media for the most part and sometimes that's a good perception and sometimes that's a bad perception, but it is what it is."

Evangelous said the media acts as a "middle man" for the department and the community and crime just tends to happen the most on the weekends.

"We take in about 200 plus people released from jail and prison every month throughout the city, throughout the area," explained Evangelous.  "200 a month so there are going to be some bad guys out there. There's no question about it, but generally speaking we don't have a violent crime problem in the downtown area."

The chief emphasized that downtown Wilmington safe, and crime has gone down in the area over the past ten years.

Copyright 2012 WECT. All rights reserved.