It’s been five years since Chief Scott Thomson took the oath to lead a newly regionalized Camden County police force tasked with changing the city’s longtime status as one of the most dangerous in the country, to a place where community and crime are no longer synonymous.

“From the rookie officer to the chief of police, we will all be out in the field towing the line,” Thomson said in 2013.

Drastic changes followed. When the city force disbanded, Thomson shifted the department to a community policing strategy, getting cops out of their squad cars and walking the beat. It meant letting go of some officers who refused to buy in, and hiring more who did.

“It was about changing the culture of the organization, so we shifted our identity from being warriors, we thought the solution for all the problems were arrests, to becoming guardians,” Thomson said.

A snapshot of the five years before the reorganization to the five years after, shows Part I crime is down 32 percent. That’s nearly 10,600 crimes in total. They include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson. Homicide alone decreased 28 percent.

“Our communities are safer not because we have a cop on every corner, but because when the cops were there they developed relationships and made people feel safe enough to leave their homes so that they’re now sitting on their front steps,” Thompson said.

“It just proves that what we did worked. It builds confidence in individuals that are outsiders that are now in the city. It builds confidence in individuals who have been here during the tough times and that we’re serious about transforming our city,” said Camden Mayor Frank Moran.

The economic growth in Camden — a billion dollars in tax incentives and major corporations planting roots — is attributed largely to the police department’s ability to reduce crime. High school graduation rates are up and more after school programs are keeping teens off the streets. In the early days of the transfer, Thomson deployed officers to elementary schools, taking time to read and build positive relationships. Officers undergo regular, extensive de-escalation and sensitivity training to work with mental illness and developmentally disabled residents.

“I’ve been working in the city of Camden for past eight years, and as an outsider, I’m not a resident I was born in D.C. and grew up in Maryland, coming to this city I understood there were a lot of challenges here. You can visually see the changes that are positive, you can feel the changes that are positive,” said Shahid Rana, vice president of business development for Cooper’s Ferry Partnership.

Still there are those who believe the ‘Camden Rising’ narrative is crafted. A recent incident involving an officer, caught on surveillance, revealed disturbingly violent tactics. The department says it was an isolated incident, strongly condemning the actions. The officer was immediately suspended without pay while under investigation.

Residents throughout the city said, even though they’re seeing positive change, they still have a fear of backlash, retaliation or being called a snitch for speaking out, because drugs, crime and gangs have plagued their neighborhoods for decades.

“We’re not naive enough to think that everybody loves us, but I think even some of our strongest critics will recognize that there’s a significant difference that’s taken place on the streets in this city,” Thomson said.

Neighborhood staples like Donkey’s Place have been in business for 75 years. Here the locals say progress has been consistent and steadily so as more residents find jobs.

“It’s getting much better. You see a bigger police presence here. They’re doing bikes down Haddon Avenue, they’re walking the beat. I see them around all the time, it’s gotten a lot nicer,” said Donkey’s Place owner Rob Lucas.

“One thing we have found is as police we often treat symptoms, but nothing stops a bullet like a job. And when the people in some of our most challenged communities have economic opportunity, they make different life choices and decisions,” Thomson said.

Choices that will undeniably help shape the years ahead.