They act as cops but think like social workers.

About seven years ago, the Phoenix Police Department walking-beat squad that patrols the Human Services Campus in downtown Phoenix came up with a new strategy to deal with homeless people on their beat: help them connect with social services rather than arresting them for every minor misdemeanor. The new approach is credited with decreasing reports of crime in the neighborhood. Since 2005, overall reported crime in the area is down by 46 percent, with property crime dipping by 40 percent and violent crime by 20 percent, according to police officials. The area around the campus is no longer classified as a statistical hot spot for violent crimes.

Before the change, officers on the beat would sweep homeless shelters and book dozens into jail daily on misdemeanors like loitering or trespassing. But it was not serving that population well. Plus, the cost of booking and housing jail inmates has increased for the past five years.

"They'd go to jail for 10 to 12 hours, then they'd be right back out in the corner where we found them," said Sgt. Brian Freudenthal, the squad's supervisor.

Today, the South Mountain Precinct's walking-beat officers are trained in crisis intervention and how to interact with the chronically homeless and the mentally ill. Their department created a specific Human Services Campus referral form that can be used to direct homeless people to the campus and additional services there. Officers regularly check rosters at the campus to make sure those they've referred have followed through.

The officers now know the homeless men and women by name. They know which are recovering drug addicts and which have been kicked out. They use the threat of arrest as leverage to keep them on track with their services, making arrests only if they have exhausted all other options. If the person has outstanding warrants in other jurisdictions, is violating terms of parole or probation, or is committing crimes involving victims, they definitely are arrested, said Lt. Sean Connolly of the South Mountain Precinct, who was among the key people who advocated for the change in the beat squad's approach.

"There was a philosophical change. ... All we would do is arrest our way to solutions," said Connolly, who started at the precinct as a beat cop. "There was no sustainability in the process."

It is a carrot-and-stick approach. Officers are trained in communication skills that could help them enforce the law and de-escalate certain situations, Connolly said. But they make it clear: "Don't take my kindness as a weakness."

One recent day at 10:30 a.m., for example, Freudenthal found three homeless men -- they called themselves Kool Dip, Peter and Sam -- passing around a 16-ounce can of Steel Reserve 211 beer. He knew Sam had once blown a 0.42 percent blood-alcohol content in a breath test, and that the other two also struggle with alcoholism. He confiscated and poured out their beer. He didn't arrest them, though he often takes them to Community Bridges, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center at the campus.

That same morning, two walking-beat officers booked Veronica Vargas into jail after finding her trespassing at Phoenix's University Park. In her case, they had given her numerous warnings over the past two months, referred her to behavioral-health help at the campus, petitioned her for psychiatric care and took her to the women's shelter. Yet she repeatedly defied the law and ignored the services they referred her to. In one case, she faked a heart attack at the psychiatric center to obtain her own release.

"Here's the deal, Veronica," Freudenthal told her as she sat on a sidewalk, leaning against the squad car. "You've generated 30 radio calls in the last two weeks. We've been giving you breaks."

The officers arrested her. They took her to jail.

"We've hit the tipping point," Freudenthal said later. "Maybe this will open her eyes."

Walking-beat officers do weekly early-morning outreach with homeless-campus staff. They drive around the campus waking up those sleeping on the streets and try to persuade them to sign up for services they need.

"Coming from patrol to here, it's a whole different approach," said Steve Lochner, a walking-beat officer. "You have to have more patience, for sure. These people are not criminals, they're homeless."

The collaboration between Phoenix police, Maricopa County Protective Services and providers at the Human Services Campus is key, said David Bridge, the campus' managing director. Law enforcement and service providers meet once a week to discuss security and operational issues. Police and security officers offer suggestions and feedback on how to make the campus and surrounding areas safer, and how best to enforce rules.

"We could not do what we're doing on the campus without that resource," Bridge said.

An added benefit is police and security officers hear complaints from the community and spot issues that providers do not.

There are at least four armed county security officers on the campus, as well as private security. They all work with the Phoenix walking-beat officers with the same mind-set, said Sgt. Art Shaffer of Maricopa County Protective Services.

"They help us out, we help them out. It goes both ways," Shaffer said. The collaboration is "really a game-changer down here."