I can recount more stories. I don't know that the police have prevented a crime for me personally. I dunno which stick up kids moved on bc they saw police in the area. I dunno which burglar didn't crawl in my window or which car thief opted out of stealing my car bc of the police camera on my block. I dunno what drunk driver stayed off the road and didn't hit me bc s/he feared being stopped by police.

This past summer there was a gang war in my hood. Shootings at least once per week - including one with a .50 cal Desert Eagle. Police responded with increased presence - more squad cars, beat cops on bikes and on foot, and helicopters. I welcomed it. I walked my blocks and wasn't too worried I'd be stopped, I was more concerned with the police preventing and/or stopping the shootings. Their presence made me feel better and neighbors agreed based on posts I read on a local blog. But we all agreed the helicopters were too much. We told the alderman to have the copters called off. The shootings stopped too. I dunno that the police stopped the shootings and/or prevented more but seeing more squad cars and beat cops was good.