Residents demand change from Wilmington mayor

WILMINGTON (WPVI) -- The mayor of Wilmington, Delaware went face-to-face with his constituents Tuesday night and found out what he already knew: a lot of them are really concerned about their city and its problems.

Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams got an earful from residents concerned about the city's problems from the economy to crime and education.

"What are your departments doing to actually combat the criminal behavior of the ones who are out there?" resident Hope Bellamy asked the mayor.

The city announced progress in the war on crime.

They credit Operation Disrupt, a community policing program that puts officers out on foot patrolling troubled areas.

"The number of shooting incidents that we've had since they've been out there have gone down tremendously. Our Shot Spotter alerts have gone way down, our overall calls for service have gone way down," Wilmington Police Chief Bobby Cummings said.

But some say more needs to be done and that they all want to help, but they need leadership in the mayor's office.

Mayor Williams says he knows mistakes were made, but not all of them were his.

"I think things are getting better now. I accept responsibility for my mistakes and I hope City Council accepts responsibility for theirs," Williams said.

Some people were not impressed.

"[My concerns] were not addressed at all," resident Rita Carnevale said.

Mayor Williams promises he has learned from his mistakes and will continue to make adjustments to address the myriad of problems facing Wilmington residents, in particular, the bloodshed that has plagued this city.