Two views of a mid-town area – starkly different – may be matters of perception. What’s real are new fences, security systems and assorted &#8220for sale signs.”

&#8220The police aren’t doing a good job,” said Robert Amborn, owner of United Cleaners on Cherry at West Magnolia. &#8220A lot of drug dealing goes on in this area in broad daylight and at night, it’s an unsafe place to be.”

Detective Capt. Mark Culbertson, whose office in the Vicksburg Police Department is about three blocks away, said he’s not alarmed.

&#8220This area is a high-traffic area,” Culbertson said, &#8220but compared to other areas, I would consider this to be a low-crime area.”

Mississippi Department of Transportation figures show that 3,800 vehicles pass through the &#8220T” intersection of Cherry and Belmont each day. On nearby East Avenue, 2,200 vehicles pass each day, compared to 14,000 near Mission 66 and Confederate Avenue and 7,600 at Indiana and Confederate avenues.

A woman who lives near United Cleaners and asked not be identified agreed with Amborn about drug activity.

&#8220It’s constantly a problem, especially on West Magnolia Street,” she said. &#8220That has been a constant drug haven. We get a lot of traffic here because of the drug-dealing on that street.”

For an 82-year-old resident of the Carriage House apartments on East Avenue, she was more than a witness to crime.

&#8220A year and a half ago, a man shot at me and knocked down my door,” she said.

The owner of the complex, Bill Libbey, said the man approached his tenant from behind and demanded money. She said she didn’t have any and asked him to follow her to the front of the building, hoping to get help. There, the would-be robber saw another man and shot at him.

&#8220He got off a couple of rounds, but thank God he missed,” Libbey said.

In response, Libbey built a retainer wall in front of the small complex and began erecting a wrought-iron fence.

&#8220To give my tenants peace of mind and the security they are entitled to, I put up that fence,” he said. &#8220But it’s an ongoing project. I’ve still got to put in two entrance gates and a drive-through gate for automatic closure.”

In a couple of months, the fence should be complete.

&#8220To get in, you’ll have to have a key and activator to open the gate or you’ll have to call ahead,” he said. &#8220If you don’t have a key or remote-controlled device, you can’t get in.”

The 82-year-old said the fence was needed and is reassuring.

&#8220People would come off the street and walk across like we were nothing,” she said. &#8220But they went to throwing rocks over here after they put the fence up. They’re drunk and they pitch their beer bottles toward us.”

Like others, she’s seen what she believes to be drug activity, too.

At one house, she said, &#8220there is nothing but dope and sex. The police go over there but they don’t do anything. They write something down on a piece of paper and leave.”

Records show eight complaints have been reported to police from that location since June 6, 2005. Those calls include reports of burglary, malicious mischief, disturbance, fire and domestic assault.

Culbertson said all areas of the city have their particular problems, including East Avenue.

&#8220As far as East Avenue, we have very little crime in that area,” Culbertson said. &#8220We don’t have a whole lot go on there.”

Libbey agreed, at least in part.

&#8220I will say that I don’t think crime around East Avenue and Cherry is any worse than in other parts of town,” he said. &#8220But until the police decide to do something about the drug problem and until the courts decide to do something more than slapping people on the hand, it will be a vicious circle.”

In the absence of stronger enforcement, Libbey said he will do what’s necessary to protect his property and its residents.

&#8220Since the majority of my tenants are elderly people, whatever crime is being committed I don’t think they should have to tolerate that,” he said. &#8220I will do whatever I can to keep my tenants safe.”

Northwest of East Avenue on Belmont Street, customers of Vicksburg Railroad Credit Union must ring a buzzer to be allowed into the building – after they’ve been recognized by employees.

&#8220In 1999 when I came to work at the credit union, it was like that,” manager Flo Cooper said. &#8220We were robbed at one time, but we haven’t had any problems lately.”

On Cherry at East Avenue is one of seven Trustmark Bank branches in the city. It closes for a couple of hours in the middle of the day.

Cynthia Freeny, Trustmark’s regional retail manager, said that was due to business volume, not crime. &#8220We’ve been very fortunate,” she said. &#8220Of course, scams and fraud go on in all our branches. But as far as actual crime, we’ve been very fortunate in that respect.” The last robbery at the branch was several years ago.

Another bank in the area, Guaranty, is on Cherry Street directly across from United Cleaners. It has erected a header curb on the Drummond Street side of the building. A manager there said reckless drivers were putting customers and employees in harm’s way.

&#8220It was a safety thing for our customers and our employees because people were cutting through from Cherry to Drummond,” Guaranty Vice President Susan Gilfoil said. &#8220On the other side, where employees park, people were flying through here, and we were afraid someone was going to be hurt. So we closed off that Drummond Street side.”

Across Belmont from the bank are two houses previously owned by Petesy Smith, an attorney and former member of the Warren County Board of Supervisors. She sold them more than a year ago. &#8220The reputation of the area hurt, so I sold them,” she said. &#8220I took a beating on all of them, and it was cheaper to get out. The reputation of the neighborhood was such that you couldn’t get what they were worth.”

The properties are for sale by another owner, David Mitchell, who said he isn’t aware of any such problems in the area.

&#8220I am shocked to hear that,” he said. &#8220We haven’t had any problems with crime whatsoever. As soon as I purchased the property, we were able to rent the units to tenants to full capacity. We have been very pleased in the neighborhood.”

One of the properties is a Victorian that houses three apartments. The other is a New Orleans-style shotgun property that houses two apartments.

&#8220Selling them has nothing to do with crime,” Mitchell said. &#8220My business focus has changed. I would say that the prices at which people are listing their properties in that neighborhood would not indicate they are in a bad area. Rather, it indicates they are in an absolutely prime Vicksburg location.”

However, one Cherry Street resident who is selling her home said Belmont Street is essentially an extension of West Magnolia Street in that both areas are crime-ridden.

&#8220What’s around me is trash,” she said. &#8220A lot of what happens on Belmont comes from Magnolia Street. Some elderly people on that street live in fear of their neighbors. We have talked to the police numerous times. They get rid of that group and another one comes in.”

Culbertson said police have been making inroads.

&#8220We’ve had several business burglaries on Belmont Street after hours,” he said. &#8220On West Magnolia Street, we’ve had a number of drug buys and arrests.”

But Vicksburg police still do not have a handle on the problem, Amborn said.

&#8220Crackheads all hang out in this particular area,” he said. &#8220They pile up in my parking lot and I have to run them off. It’s kind of an eerie place when the sun goes down. It’s just a bad area.”

Mississippi Department of Transportation figures show that 3,800 vehicles pass through the intersection of Cherry and Belmont streets each day. On East Avenue, 2,200 vehicles pass each day, compared with 14,000 near Mission 66 and Confederate Avenue and 7,600 at Indiana and Confederate avenues.

Calls to From June 1, 2005, to June 21, 2006, officers responded 14 times to calls in the 1200 block of East Avenue, according to the Vicksburg Police Department. During the same time period, officers were dispatched 34 times to the 1900, 2000 and 2100 blocks of Cherry Street.