The riding public's safety and security are of utmost importance to DART First State (DART), especially since September 11th, and since its major bus transit hub, Rodney Square, is located in the very public center of downtown Wilmington. To provide more safety and security for its downtown bus riders, and for the public around its bus hub that includes a stop at the Wilmington Public Library, DART has teamed with the City of Wilmington and its police department to create a new combined effort to reduce 'nuisance crimes.' These crimes include loitering, public intoxication, lewdness, and panhandling.

DART eagerly teamed up with the City and the citizens patrolling group, Downtown Visions, to fund such a visible and important campaign that was first suggested by Wilmington Police Officer Dan Selekman who patrols the downtown district. Out of Officer Selekman's concern for growing nuisance crimes around the Wilmington Public Library and its DART bus stop, he worked with DART to find a way to combine DART's mission of ensuring the safety and security of DART bus riders with the need to stop certain behaviors from occurring on downtown city streets, and on buses and at bus stops.

That way was to not only to find grant funding for additional downtown police patrols, but also to establish a special, new police phone number, aside from 911, for the public to report nuisance crimes. Key to this effort was getting the word and phone number, 302-654-5151, out to the public and DART bus riders. DART responded by producing and placing colorful nuisance crime posters at 12 of its busiest downtown bus shelters, as well as ad boards in buses.

DART's web site, DartFirstState.com, also displays how the public and riders can make reports. More importantly, the City police also worked with DART's bus drivers and dispatchers to make them aware of using the new reporting phone number, and how this new DART-Police partnership can benefit the public and DART bus riders with quicker response times and with important area data from which more patrols could result.

Wilmington Mayor James Baker said, "Downtown Wilmington is relatively free from serious crime, but we want citizens and visitors alike to be afforded an additional level of safety and continue to enjoy our City or to ride DART buses to and from their destinations without being bothered, insulted, or feeling threatened by people who openly commit these types of nuisance crimes on our streets. With generous funding from DART First State and the combined enforcement and monitoring talents of the Wilmington Police and Downtown Visions, we are sending a clear message that violators will be arrested, and law abiding citizens should be afforded a pleasant experience while they are in our beautiful and historic City."

DART First State Executive Director Ray Miller said, "We are very pleased to provide the educational and informational materials for this new campaign to stop nuisance crimes and make the City a more enjoyable place to live, work, entertain, and ride transit. DART and DelDOT are pleased to be part of this partnership with the City, and its police and public safety departments in our joint efforts to provide the public and our riders with safer streets, a safer downtown, safer bus stops, and an even safer bus ride. Most importantly, we're pleased with this new effort and that Wilmington Police and DART drivers and dispatchers have begun working more closely together to understand how they can assist each other in reducing any type of criminal behavior on the streets or on DART buses."

DART First State is Delaware's bus, train, and intermodal transportation provider. The Delaware Transit Corporation, a division of the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) under the direction of Secretary Nathan Hayward III, operates DART First State. DART First State services include commuter rail, intercounty bus, fixed route bus, paratransit, seasonal resort bus, commuter assistance, Operation Lifesaver rail crossing safety, and the RideShare Delaware ridematching program. DART First State provides more than 9,200,000 passenger trips annually replacing more than 3,082,000 single occupant vehicle trips. For the public, more information about DART First State services in New Castle and Kent Counties is available by calling 800-652-DART; for information on Sussex County service and statewide paratransit service call 1-800-553-DART; or on the web visit www.DartFirstState.com. For media inquires, please call DelDOT Public Relations at 302-760-2080 or visit www.deldot.gov.