QUINCY, FL (WTXL) -- A resident of one Quincy neighborhood says he's had enough of the crime on his block.
Chris Peterson has lived on Macon Street for more than 20 years, but he says it's not the place it used to be.
"I see it every day, and it seems to be getting worse as the days go by," he said. "Each week that goes by, it seems like there's five more people out there."
Peterson says drug dealers and prostitutes are at the corner of Macon and Jefferson -- and claims he's called police weekly.
"I have to tote one of my pistols with me, even when I walk out in the yard, so that i feel safe enough that I can protect myself in my own yard," he said.
He's not the only one on the block that's worried.
"We don't want a drug neighborhood. We want a nice neighborhood," said neighbor Trudie Henson. "We want to be safe."
The Peterson have a plastic bag filled with items they say have been thrown at them and their house after calling police about suspicious activity. The bag includes chunks of asphalt, rusty springs and shotgun shells, but Peterson says he's not going to stop until the city takes action.
"We all signed a petition to try to get the police or the sheriffs or someone to listen to us," he said.
Fifteen residents have signed it, which Peterson says went to city commissioner Daniel McMillan.
The commissioner was unavailable for comment, but WTXL also showed the petition to Quincy police.
"We have received complaints in the past about drug activities in that area, and we continue to work on those issues," said police chief Glenn Sapp.
Police say they've been at Macon and Jefferson nine times this month -- from regular patrols to reports of suspicious persons.
"We're planning on setting up a community meeting with the residents on the streets in that area, including a local trailer park and privately-owned homes and renters, to try to get to the bottom of some of these 'quality of life' issues," Sapp said.
After receiving the petition, police have made a specific invitation for residents in that neighborhood to come to one of their periodical community meetings.
Tentatively, the meeting is set for either Wednesday, August 24 or Thursday, August 25 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
