In the 1990s the Roanoke Police Department began moving toward a community-policing concept by assigning officers to specific districts and charging the officers with becoming familiar with the residents and crime problems in their assigned areas. To facilitate this process, crime analysis capabilities were enhanced and Neighborhood Watch groups and community civic leagues were established. Since then, the community-policing concept has evolved in the department and among residents to eventually become Roanoke’s Geographic Policing Initiative (GPI). The Roanoke Police Department launched the GPI on September 1, 2004, to enhance the police service to the community.