After 30 Years Building Bridges, Ofelia Robles Says Goodbye

By Karlha Velásquez Rivas, Hola Nebraska

For three decades, Ofelia Robles worked to strengthen the relationship between Omaha’s Hispanic community and the Omaha Police Department. Now, as she retires, she leaves behind a clear message: safety is also built through trust, unity and neighbors who know one another.

When Ofelia Robles talks about crime prevention, she does not begin with patrol cars chasing criminals or with statistics. She talks about neighbors, the people who live on the same block. About the phone calls people make when something unusual happens next door. About the woman who checks on another family. About trust.

For 30 years, that philosophy guided her work as a crime prevention specialist for Omaha’s Southeast Precinct: strengthening ties among neighbors to help build a safer community.

As she says goodbye to the Omaha Police Department, Robles leaves a message she repeated again and again in an interview with Hola America: the community needs to stay united.

Robles is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She was born and raised in Omaha, although she lived in Mexico for a time, an experience that gave her firsthand understanding of the cultural dynamics that have shaped the community. She said she was drawn to the Police Department because she had always worked in community spaces.

“Thirty years ago, when they offered me the position with the Police Department, one of the things they asked me was whether I had experience working with the community. And, thank God, that is what helped me get this job. I really have always liked being there for the community. I want to see my community in a more positive and empowered position,” she said.

When she began her career, Omaha’s Hispanic presence looked very different than it does today. Robles takes pride in the growth of the Hispanic community, both in its multicultural makeup, with nationalities beyond the Mexican community, and in the growth of Latino businesses and the consolidation of a community that is now an essential part of South Omaha’s identity.

Programs she led

The programs that shaped Ofelia Robles’ career were different in scope, but connected by the same purpose: bringing the community closer together and strengthening prevention. SAFE, for example, began more than 25 years ago after a young boy died in a bicycle accident in Southwest Omaha. Out of that tragedy came the goal of creating a space to educate children, young people and families about safety during the summer.

It was not just about handing out flyers or giving advice. It was about building awareness in everyday life, in the places where things happen: on the street, on the sidewalk, at the park, in the neighborhood.

Neighborhood Watch was part of another effort: organizing neighbors so they could know one another, stay informed and work together to watch over their blocks.

Neighborhood Watch

Robles was never a police officer. She was a connector and a bridge between two cultures, an important part of carrying out one of the most recognized neighborhood safety programs in the Latino community: Neighborhood Watch, a crime prevention program in which neighbors watch for suspicious activity in their neighborhoods and work together with police.

The idea is for neighbors to know one another, stay alert, report suspicious situations to police and help keep their neighborhoods safe.

Ofelia explains it in a very Latino way: many Hispanic residents already do something similar naturally. They talk with their neighbors, know who lives on the block, let one another know when something happens and look out for each other.

“It might come up in conversation, and people are letting each other know what is going on. ‘Oh, did you see what happened with the neighbor? Did you see that his car was stolen?’” she said. She added that, many times, those conversations also bring people of different races and cultures into the habit of staying alert.

In that sense, her work has been to help turn that custom into a more formal organization. The program requires a captain or coordinator, one meeting a year and participation from 60% of the neighbors on the block.

Even as she retires, she still sees a major opportunity for the community to remain united.

Among the hundreds of cases that passed through her office, one remains especially vivid in her memory.

It involved a Salvadoran mother who was struggling to care for her adult son with mental health challenges. Robles and other officers stepped in to help her find resources and support.

Years later, that woman still calls her. Not to ask for help, but to thank her.

Legacy

When asked what she believes her legacy has been, Robles pointed to the friendships, the countless volunteer efforts, her relationships with the community and the trust people have placed in her.

After three decades of service, Ofelia Robles is not asking to be remembered for one specific program or for the events she helped organize. What she hopes for is much simpler: that the community continues to come together, talk and work side by side.

For 30 years, she tried to build bridges. Now she trusts that others will continue the work.

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