It was a conversation, about crime prevention, in a city that has had a violent year. The City of Troy played host to federal law enforcement officials, at a meeting to talk about crime in the Collar City. Time Warner Cable News reporter Katie Eastman has the story.
TROY, N.Y. -- It's not often that people can sit in a room with an FBI special agent or a United States Marshall.
"They weren't really on our radar screen when we talked about who can we partner with?" said TRIP director of community affairs Hilary Lamishaw.
But when community leader Hilary Lamishaw got a call from the local United State's Attorney asking if she could introduce people from federal agencies- she said of course.
"Troy is certainly one here in the capital that we're concerned about," said John Duncan with the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Federal agents have worked on a number of drug, arson, and human trafficking crimes in the collar city - but they also want to help prevent these crimes. That's the word that rings in Davia Collington's ears as a coordinator of the Troy Drug Free Community Coalition.
Part of a prevention program that just started this year in the Troy school district is called the leadership project where these same men go into 5th grade classrooms and act out gang scenarios with the kids.
"We need something like that so they can see the other side of what happens with the gangs."
John Waters lives in a part of Lansingburgh where police say there were several Gang shootings last summer.
"We've had multiple shootings last year and a lot of crime and I think we've got to get these kids at an early age," said resident John Waters.