By Kelli Stopczynski (kstopczynski@wsbt.com) WSBT-TV WSBT-TV

6:31 p.m. EST, February 4, 2013

Dieter said he doesn't feel the substation has been used to its fullest potential.
"The original premise when former Chief Boykins was there was to use it also as a public relations outlet to have things like weekly donut or fruit with a cop [where people could] come down, a meet and greet where officers could be there," he explained.  

But even though cops aren't there all the time, many people who work and live downtown are noticing the difference. 
"They're really good about stopping in, just to make sure everything is good with us, make sure we're safe," explained Radkey.

And the cost of having a locked building that says "police" and sometimes has officers working inside seems to accomplish what the city wanted.  

"Anytime you have more police presence obviously there's that feel that it's safer," Hammer said. 

"I think there's a lot of things you're going to be seeing from downtown a lot more than you used to," Schreiber added.  "It's safer, it's cleaner and it's a nice area to be."

In addition to adding officers and the substation downtown, the DTSB or "Downtown South Bend" organization also has employees out in red coats and shirts, year round.
The DTSB "ambassadors" help give visitors directions, shovel sidewalks and keep the streets clean. They've also been trained on how to handle crime if they encounter it and have special radios to contact police.