BIDDEFORD — The Biddeford Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit is doing what it set out to do ”“ keeping the city’s streets clean and improving the quality of life for its residents.

And city officials, community members and Police Chief Roger Beaupre say they’re happy with the job the new unit has been doing so far.

In an email Monday, Mayor Alan Casavant called the unit an “innovative mechanism for crime prevention,” and said it has shown creativity and punctuality in responding to criminal activity.

“The City Council and myself do not want this community to be a haven for drug trafficking and drug abuse, so by the sound gathering of intelligence and the dedicated resources of manpower, the police department and Chief Beaupre are doing what is necessary to protect our neighborhoods and our families,” he said.

Heart of Biddeford Director Delilah Poupore noted in an email Monday that the unit is more than just a means of preventing crime.

She said officers from the unit regularly visit the Heart of Biddeford’s office, as well as other downtown businesses, to check in and to ask how things are going and how the public perceives its safety. Poupore said she’s been able to pass along to them both positive feedback as well as residents’ concerns.

“This unit is giving Biddeford police something essential: the time to build relationships and follow up on concerns,” she said. “Police enforcement fits into a larger strategy going on downtown to rebuild interest, hold bigger events and get more businesses open. We appreciate their approach and the results they are getting.”

City Manager John Bubier gave the unit similar accolades Monday. There are many factors that influence criminal activity in the city, explained Bubier, and he thinks the unit is doing a good job recognizing and addressing those factors.

“The Street Crimes Unit is an example of a solution that uses an approach that recognizes the complex nature of the task at hand,” he said.

Beaupre pointed to some of the unit’s recent work in an email Monday.

For example, after receiving reports of drug sales at Headlines Barber Shop, at 191 Main St., the Street Crimes Unit along with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency conducted an investigation that led them to believe Anthony Cadilla, 32, of Saco, who runs the barbershop, was involved in drug trafficking, according to a post on the police department’s Facebook page.

A search of Cadilla’s residence, vehicle and the barbershop yielded drug paraphernalia, according to the post, and he was arrested and later turned over to U.S. Marshals and transported to the York County Sheriff’s Office.

Earlier last month, on Jan. 16, after investigating a drug overdose, the unit along with other officers and agencies conducted a search at 541 South St., which recovered 29 packets ”“ equaling 8.8 grams ”“ of heroin with an estimated street value of $1,160, a loaded .22-caliber revolver, $923 in cash, several cell phones, and scales and other drug paraphernalia, according to a separate post.

Larry Jefferson, 57, and Christine Jefferson, 36, were arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking of a Schedule W drug, which is a Class A felony, according to the post.

The unit’s work has resulted in more than just drug-related arrests, explained Beaupre. Other Street Crimes Unit investigations have resulted in police arresting suspects with active arrest warrants, as well as on charges of criminal mischief and burglaries, he said.

At a City Council meeting in December, Beaupre said he’d been advocating for a unit like this for 15 years, but until the unit was formed last November, there had been a lack of manpower at the police department.

Beaupre said Monday that the unit’s “true success” has been the fact that it’s been able to create a productive conversation between residents and police.

“The majority of our success has been a result of information received by concerned citizens,” he said.

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or averzoni@journaltribune.com.