Jackson Free Press

Editor's Note: Links to all of the JFP's crime stories to date are archived below this story.

The tall window of the Jackson Police Department's COMSTAT room on the 17th floor of the Standard Life Building looks west and north on a crumbling Jackson. The King Edward Hotel looms just to the left, the remains of the bulldozed Noble Hotel is straight ahead, a ripped-up Farish Street lies a bit further on. Thanks largely to racial politics and the rise of a suburban culture that takes from cities without returning a whole bunch, the riches of the past are no more, at least not right now in downtown Jackson. What has replaced the neon lights and bustling commerce of yesteryear is crime, or at least a powerful perception of it.

Often blamed for that crime is a defensive majority-black city administration. That administration faces community pressure from people of all races for them to reduce violence, an often-hostile media obsessed with statistics, concerned citizens at odds on how to handle young offenders and, a disconcerting "us" and "them" mentality from some in the community.

View from the 17th Floor

The March 19 meeting of COMSTAT—Computer Analysis of Crime Statistics—was like any other Wednesday morning for JPD officers, except this time a reporter was there. When I walked in with Chief Robert Moore, a Pontotoc native who has been at the helm of the department since last July, the officers looked uncomfortable. They were, after all, there to report on their successes and failures of the past week fighting crime in the city of Jackson. This is a weekly show-and-tell routine that the media-shy department tends to keep to itself. Until recently the department only released crime stats every six months. Now it's quarterly, but not often enough for critics. And the department was, and still is, in the middle of a crime spike that Moore optimistically calls a temporary "bubble."

Since the beginning of the year, several high-profile shootings had occurred in the city, including the Nissan engineer, the Captain D's drive-by shooting and the gunning down of a Domino's delivery man. Also igniting outrage earlier this year is the fact that robbery had shot up 91 percent over the same period the year before, car burglaries spiked, and reports of break-ins and armed robberies were rampant. The police are an easy target. To counter that criticism, Moore is determined to become more "transparent," as he calls it, and so he opened the COMSTAT door to me. "I told her some people in the streets don't know how we fight crime," he said to the officers as I pulled up a chair.

After showing off some new technology—cameras mounted in police cars that, to me, just seemed to prove that a high-speed chase of a burglar on wet Fondren streets looked mighty dangerous for pedestrians—the officers launched into their precinct reports. The COMSTAT meetings, I would soon learn, are detailed discussions of the last week's crime precinct by precinct, beat by beat, street by street.

Commander Rick Seavey of Precinct 4, Northeast Jackson, went first, as his district was projected onto a big screen. "I wish I could tell you we've seen major reductions, Chief. We're down in auto thefts and burglaries," said Seavey, who is one of the few white commanders. The department had joined forces earlier that month with the Hinds County Sheriff's Department to patrol the I-55 North corridor for car theft, and they had caught five car thieves "in a matter of seconds," he said. But car burglaries continue to plague the precinct and had been the source of public consternation there in recent months. "If it wasn't for auto burglaries, I'd be having a spectacular year," Seavey said, adding that victims often leave keys in the car or even the engine running. "We're trying to educate people as much as possible," he said. Seavey discussed specific trouble spots with the chief, promising to give special attention to Hallmark Gardens apartments and North Hill Square.

Next up was Commander Ron Sampson, who oversees Precinct 3, which covers northwest Jackson in and around Medgar Evers Blvd. His precinct had seen a 5-percent drop in crime, including a 29-percent drop in auto burglaries, although many cars were still being stolen—mostly Fords, Toyotas and Mitsubishis with easily accessible steering columns, Sampson said. He had also seen "extremely high" aggravated assault and, he added, "of course, the homicides." Nine of the 11 murders that had occurred in Jackson this year by that meeting had been in Precinct 3, and most of them between friends and family members. "That's who's killing each other over there," Moore said to Sampson, shaking his head. Sampson also reported 13 burglaries of homes and storage rooms. He described one business owner who allows vagrants to hang around his store, using them for cheap labor. In turn, his store keeps getting broken into, often for cigarettes. "He asked us if we can camp out in front. I told him that was impossible."

The COMSTAT reports continued at this pace with the officers looking sheepish about their shortcomings and hopeful about their gains—and seemingly with little sugarcoating. Precinct 2 (central city) reported a 17-percent overall decrease from the week before, although auto burglaries were the "biggest worry." The commander also reported eight armed robberies, mostly "where people buy drugs," and said he was working with a number of businesses in the area, particularly hotel owners, to organize a business watch for information-sharing on possible criminals. Precinct 1 (south) reported a 30-percent decrease, but had a rash of house burglaries in a several-block radius and two liquor-store robberies by three white males, who put bottles of liquor into the trunk of a white vehicle and drove off.

Throughout the precinct reports, the chief grimaced at bad news and smiled at the good, clearly trying to offer his officers encouragement they don't often get. As Sampson sat down, he said, "Keep up the good work out there, all of you."

Dangerous City

"Let's take a stand now. Leaders of Jackson, Chief of Police Robert Moore, Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.—what are you doing to stop this epidemic?" That was only one of many recent outcries against crime, this one in a March 17 letter to the Clarion-Ledger by Marsha Williams Darnell.

Darnell, who lives in Brandon and works in North Fondren, was robbed at gunpoint behind El Ranchero restaurant at 7:30 p.m. on a dark, rainy night. Two black men came up behind her and Jackson State professor Tom English, holding a gun to their heads, calling her "bitch" and telling them to lie on the pavement as they robbed the two. They then fled. Outraged at what she sees as out-of-control crime in the city (which she calls "terrorism"), Darnell started calling media outlets and looking for other crime victims to network with. "Crime is driving people out," she said in a March 14 interview. Small businesses are going to close and spring up in the suburbs; people are not going to come in to Jackson."

Darnell, 49, wants daily life to return to the safety she felt as a child growing up in Newton County in the 1950s and '60s. "We grew up on a big cotton farm we'd had since the 1830s; my father used to leave the keys in the station wagon. I grew up in such an atmosphere of trust; I guess it makes me so angry that my grandson is in a society where random acts of violence are so common," she said. Darnell's family is so scared of crime that her adult daughter will not let Darnell take her baby grandson in a stroller to the park in Pearl, where her daughter lives, even in broad daylight. Darnell advises other people to get self-defense training and stay inside when she feels it's most dangerous. "Use common sense. Don't go out at night if you don't have to," she said.

When asked whether suburbs could hold similar dangers, she said: "I think it (crime) is increasing more in Jackson; all you have to do is look at the Northside Sun."

Attitudes like Darnell's confounds Matthew Dalbey, a Fondren resident and assistant professor of urban and regional planning at Jackson State, who was recently featured as an almost-victim in the Northside Sun, a weekly paper that often headlines full-length stories about individual crimes on its front page.

Dalbey says families are safer living in a more open environment where people walk their dogs on the sidewalks, jog in the neighborhood and look out for each other. "I'd rather take my kids to a park in the city where there's a better chance of more people," he said. And, he added, "The way criminals work, they try to prey on people they think are vulnerable." Being overwrought by fear is one way to look vulnerable.

Dalbey's brush with crime came one night in February when he got up for a glass of water. When he walked past his unshuttered plate-glass window, he saw a car stop in front of his house and a tall white, preppy teenager—wearing a reddish button-down shirt and knakis—approach his car. When the car's dome light went on, Dalbey went to call the police, but the kids were gone by the time he got back. Nothing was taken. The police responded within 10 minutes, which Dalbey felt was reasonable.

The incident, he said, made him become more aware, but hasn't scared him and his family out of the neighborhood, which they love. He said it also bolstered his belief that it's good to not live closed off from the outside, to have open windows where you can see what's going on in the street or at your neighbor's house. Dalbey, an expert on neighborhood planning, also criticizes the strategy of living on cul-de-sacs or closing streets to keep out traffic and the proverbial "riff-raff." "You want traffic," he said. Activity, from both cars and people, helps decrease the risk of crime, he said. "We live in this community because we like walking our dogs, like seeing our neighbors. You shouldn't stop doing that; just be more aware."

Dalbey is sympathetic toward crime victims like Darnell—being robbed at gunpoint is terrifying—but says that the perception of crime is often worse than the reality. After actress Lydy Caldwell was killed in his neighborhood (by someone who had done work for her), Dalbey said his family called the 4th Precinct to get advice. The officer didn't say not to worry at all, but to be observant, to not invite crime by leaving valuables in unlocked cars and the like. "I wanted him to say, 'Your neighborhood is safe, we've got it under control, don't worry.' But he can't say that." Dalbey added, "I don't know how the police prevent crime."

Not Our Fault

Chief Robert Moore has started taking the criticism of the police personally. "There is a tendency here in Jackson to blame the police; it eats away at the officers' self-esteem when they don't hear nothing but negative," he said at a March 4 Parents for Public Schools "Lunch Bunch" speech. He was so troubled with recent critical media coverage of his department's handling of the crime "bubble" that he chucked the meeting's agenda—school violence—in order to defend his department. "Until we stop blaming the police for problems in this community, we're never going to solve them," he said.

The Metro community, though, has a long tradition of blaming the Jackson Police Department, and historical basis for at least some of it. A 1999 study by the Maple/Linder Group—a consulting firm started by two police officers out of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's tough-on-crime New York—came to what the typically JPD-critical Metropolitan Crime Commission called a "dire" prognosis. They described a "police culture characterized by cynicism, distrust and a lack of accountability. Training was rudimentary, discipline and recognition perceived as capricious and unfair, no career path, low morale, high turnover and a perception of corruption held by citizens and police alike."

Moore said in a March interview that the department was indeed a mess when he arrived and that many of those problems have been solved, or are being solved. He says he is doing what it takes, revamping the department, making it more efficient, using COMSTAT data to hold officers accountable—while also trying to build back up their self-esteem. "They know my history," he said of the officers. "I have a reputation of fairness. I get things done." The chief—whose offices are decorated in tributes to civil-rights heroes (as well as significant numbers of pictures of himself meeting dignitaries and getting awards)—came to Jackson from a law-enforcement tenure in Illinois and Georgia. In past positions, he drew recognition for both increasing black representation on the force and in police management, as well as attacking what he calls the "cancer" of black-on-black crime, which indeed accounts for much of the violent crime in Jackson. In those ways, he seems an obvious fit for a difficult Jackson department.

And he believes he's changing the culture. The chief points to positive crime statistics for 2002 over 2001 that show that the city is not in a "state of insurrection," as City Councilman Ben Allen later characterized the crime situation at a March 28 town-hall meeting of about 25 people. Indeed, the city's crime statistics as provided to the FBI show that violent crime in the city dropped 10 percent for the first half of 2002 and 5 percent by the end of the yearr. Homicides dropped 2 percent (if you do not include justifiable homicide, which the FBI does not allow reported in murder statistics).

But those statistics have come under fire from various quarters—from residents who say crimes are unreported, from reporters who say that the numbers are cooked and from the Metropolitan Crime Commission—a group of mostly businesspeople who tend to have a "throw away the key" approach toward crime-fighting. "About two-thirds of all crimes aren't reported to police. Moreover, 55 to 60 percent of all violent crimes go unreported. This fact renders almost all crime statistics unreliable," the Commission stated in a 2001 "Crime Scene" newsletter. The JPD does have a shaky history with stats; in 2000, the Maple/Linder consultants helped reveal that the crime statistics for perhaps 10 years were unreliable due to computing errors. The chief says the COMSTAT system remedies any such problems.

Moore is not willing to provide those week-by-week COMSTAT figures to the media, however, which has caused a flurry of angry editorials in recent months from press outlets that, rightly, believe that the public should have access to those figures. He told me in his office that he isn't ready to trust the media with it, yet. He says, in effect, that too many local media outlets have an agenda of making the city, and the department, look bad at a time when he needs morale high to fight the spike in crime. "I have to gauge how to best manage the data. They'll use it for their own purposes. I can't provide everything people think they might want. I'm not sure how much is enough," he said.

Local media have pointed out that other cities provide much more statistical data, such as in Memphis where crime data are posted regularly on a Web site. And Mississippi's state sunshine laws call for such information to be readily available. But the chief maintains that the relationship between the media and the police here is so poor that he is better off holding back the information. They don't want to know about the police's successes, he said: "We went through a bubble and arrested about everybody involved, and no one said 'thank you,'" he said. "The (daily) newspaper says we aren't doing nothing; things like that bother me." He also points to a near-90-percent "clearance rate" for recent homicides—the rate of arrests.

He was talking to a journalist who always advocates for more information rather than less, and believes that it's not up to governmental institutions to "control" how information is used. I suggested to Moore that he might better make his case by showing the public COMSTAT data on a weekly basis to share how crime can ebb and flow in different areas and to show the public what the police are up against. He conceded that he is "considering it."

But after attending several press conferences, I've seldom seen a less-civil environment between media and a police department, even in New York City. Many of the reporters seem to parse the chief's every word, waiting for a "gotcha" slip-up. One weekly's publisher openly accused Moore at the March 5 meeting of "having a chip on your shoulder," after the chief said that he would not provide weekly statistics. ("If you're going to use it for the wrong reasons, I hesitate to give it to you," he had just said.) Frankly, it seems like the media-police relationship in Jackson is at a stalemate. And that doesn't exactly help further Moore's community-policing strategy.

Community Policing

Community policing, sometimes criticized for being a public-relations effort to take heat off police, is supposed to work something like this: The police work directly with community members and city government to model individualized strategies for specific crime problems. Most importantly, the community and the cops get to know each other, and develop trust. If someone is in need, they know a beat officer, or perhaps a cop on a bike, who can come to their rescue. The police can get to know the young people in the community and help steer them away from bad influences.

Moore called this strategy, which he hopes to start putting firmly into place, a "three-legged animal" (community, police, government). Without one, the beast can't stand. He told the luncheon attendees that the distrust of the police, promulgated by the media, will get in the way: "The whole process of community policing, ladies and gentlemen, is not blaming the police."

One problem, of course, is that traditional media like to report crime. Why? Because it sells. Most press outlets prefer what is called "episodic" reporting—something happened today; report it—instead of running more enterprising stories that place news events in a wider context. Context can show that crime does spike, that it's contained to certain areas or that it is, in fact, something that police aren't addressing. None of that context makes any crime any less heinous, of course, but it certainly can lead to less hysteria on the part of the general public. And it can help the community find solutions, rather than just blame.

"You need a good relationship between the media, community and the police for community policing to work," said urban planner Dalbey. "If the media is selling newspapers because they are criticizing the police, that's not going to help community policing. They need to make money by showing they can be positive and quality partners in the city." He describes a local newscast in the days after Caldwell was killed. It showed real-estate signs in front of houses, saying that crime was driving people out. In fact, the crime had nothing to do with those sales, and property values are up in his neighborhood.

Tough Work Ahead

Moore says he wants a "shared responsibility" with community members so they can identify problems and then find solutions. The mayor, for instance, is said to be organizing a group of citizens to go into the city's poorer neighborhoods and work directly with young people to help steer them away from crimes such as the murder of the pizza man, allegedly by a 13-year-old.

The chief, though, does not sugarcoat his view that Jackson residents have to take more responsibility for their own children's upbringing and discipline. "I don't have the ability to come sit in front of your house and stop a burglary, or raise your children. You have to do that," he said. He does not hesitate to say that young black men are the ones most at risk of becoming criminals. At the luncheon, he addressed fear that it is too difficult to try to stop crime in their communities. "I remember Dr. King and those kids in Birmingham standing in front of those dogs," he said. "Somebody talk to me about fear from our own communities and our own kids. I don't buy it."

Others, though, believe there is little hope for a lost generation of young people, and want them locked up without the ability to post bond (regardless of jail conditions) or even get out on parole once they're convicted. At the March 28 town-hall meeting, held at the Mississippi Sport Hall of Fame, Ben Allen warned that the values of today, as opposed to those of the 1950s, are causing young people to commit crimes. He criticized a justice system that lets too many arrested people back out on the streets (a criticism that Moore also has, which he says JPD cannot control). And Allen complained about what he first called the "wild tiger syndrome," and then quickly amended to "pet tigers" to describe young people with an instinct to kill who can't be rehabilitated and must be locked up. (This harkens back to the now-debunked "super-predators" theory.) Allen said a new, multiracial Metro Jackson Safe City Watch group was forming to help make the city tougher on crime.

State Rep. Eric Fleming attended the town-hall meeting and, afterward, called Allen's tiger metaphor a "cliché." He said full education funding would help deter crime, and said that a worsening economy is causing "more desperation," and thus more crime. He agreed with Allen that the community needs to come together to be "more proactive" to prevent crime. He wants to see community policing, and not just the same police cars parked "the same time, same place" every day.

The question, it seems, is whether all these disparate forces—the city, the police, the media, community members with different ideologies—can band together to prevent crime from happening in the first place. Can we all stop finger-pointing and seek solutions?

Ann Herlihy, a former Jackson parole officer who now owns Fondren Traders, says she has made a "personal choice" not to get hysterical about crime; pushing the police too hard can bring a negative response, she said, especially against people stereotypically blamed for crime. "How do (the police) prevent crime? Target everybody who looks different?" she said. "I'm not jumping on that crime bandwagon. If you want to prevent crime, make sure they have an education."

As I was interviewing Herlihy, her 17-year-old employee, Leslie Hollingsworth, blurted out, "Why does the media do so many stories about crime?" She sheepishly apologized, but she shouldn't have. She nailed it—we need solutions. It's only when we move past the "blame game" to examine the root causes that we'll find answers.

Donna Ladd is a former Packard Future of Children Fellow at the University of Maryland, studying youth crime and zero tolerance policies in schools. This story begins an occasional series that will probe Jackson's crime perceptions, causes and solutions in depth in future issues.

JFP Crime Series:

Dec. 13, 2003 - Don't Believe the Urban Legends

March 17, 2003 - Opinion: Gun Violence: A Public Health Issue

April 3, 2003 - Blame Game: Who's At Fault for the City's Crime?

April 17, 2003 Crime: Playing the Numbers

April 28, 2003 - Radical Crime-Fighting: What Is Community Policing?

April 28, 2003 - Watching the Watchdogs

May 1, 2003 - Opinion: The Sky Is Not Falling

May 15, 2003 - Tough Questions for David Banner

May 28, 2003 - Editorial: United Against Crime

Aug. 21, 2003 - McScruffie the Crime Dawg

Sept. 4, 2003 - Perception vs. Reality

Sept. 4, 2003 - Stiggers: Escape from Jacktown!

Oct. 1, 2003 - "I Walk the Walk: D.A. Faye Peterson Defends Her Record"

Oct. 1, 2003 - "I Can Fix It: Attorney Wilson Carroll Wants to 'Fix' the D.A.'s Office"

Crime blogs

May 22, 2003 - 'Is Crime Coverage Out of Balance?'

Copyright Jackson Free Press Inc. 2003. Note: All JFP stories and the entire JFP Web site, including comments by readers, are copyrighted. Do not reprint any part without permission and complete attribution, and certainly not twisted out of context to convey a different meaning as a now-defunct local publication did to many quotes in these pieces earlier this year.

Previous Commentsshow

Kudos for a great article. I had the chance to meet Chief Moore at a recent community meeting. He brought along the beat officers for my neighborhood and introduced them individually to us. As well, I was impressed with Moore's attitude. He prefers facts to "feelings" and seems to have a "get the job done" mentality that seems genuine. Chief Moore and the officers listened to our concerns and experiences. He stood firmly on the ground that we indirectly invited most of the crimes perpetrated against us. Afterall, looking back on my neighbors situations -- leaving Xmas gifts in the car or a walkman in an unlocked vehicle is not the best choice in ANY neighborhood (even the gated 'burbs)... Sadly, we realized as a community that our "lack of community" was feeding the crime. Half of those that attended did not know the names of their own neighbors (even those that shared walls). Further, many simply blamed the neighborhood or surrounding neighborhoods for the problem rather than looking at simple preventative measures that could save time, valuables, money and lives. Small changes in behavior and actions totally make a difference! On another note, it seems many Jacksonians are from rural areas where it is ok to leave your house and car unlocked... But Jackson is not that kind of place. I can not think of one urban environment where that is the case. So, for all the imports to the city, it is necessary to make a few modifications to your lifestyle. It is really not THAT painful of a transition! Finally, I agree 100% that education and preventative maintenance are the strongest methods to reduce crime. Again thanks for a positive(?) spin on the "crime situation" in Jackson. Maybe a new feature to the Press could be a "crime prevention" or "self-defense" section... Possibly a "meet your beat" officer to introduce the city to its men in blue?

Knol Aust

Apr 5 2003

Correction: I inadvertently had typed the word "murders" rather than "shootings" in the following sentence (now corrected in above story). Dumb mistake, and I apologize. "Since the beginning of the year, several high-profile shootings had occurred in the city, including the Nissan engineer, the Captain Dís drive-by shooting and the gunning down of a Dominoís delivery man. "

ladd

Apr 7 2003

Knol, Thanks for your insightful comments. I certainly have seen no evidence that the chief is in denial about crime in the city; I can't speak for him, but my dealings with him on numerous occasions, in public and in private, over the past several weeks have shown that he readily admits the crime that is occurring, and has increased in 2003, but that he does not want crime hysteria to get overblown, as much media like to do. (The old journalistic phrase "If it bleeds, it leads" isn't a myth.) Very little positive, if anything ever comes out of hysteria. You can't think clearly, and you don't make good decisions based on reality. It does amaze me how so many people see things in simply black and white -- that is, the chief is saying crime hysteria is overblown; therefore, he is in denial about crime. That is simply bad logic; one does not follow the other. That said, I do believe he should provide crime statistics more oftenójust as local media should be more responsible with its crime coverage. The JFP will do everything we can to gain better access to detailed crime data from the city, but it's certainly not the only thing that matters about crime. It's just one piece of the puzzle. I appreciate your suggestion about "crime prevention" coverage. In fact, you'll be seeing a number of in-depth crime articles in the JFP about the causes of crime and how to prevent itóbut certainly not episodic reporting to "track" individual crimes that add little to the discussion and just scare people out of the city. (By the way, crime tracking would mean following a crime from the very causes of an individual case to its very outcome. When's the last time you've seen media do that?)

ladd

Apr 7 2003

Also, here's a link to a column that follows that slippery logic I mention above: http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0304/06/meric.html It is indeed good to see the figures put into print that show that crime has fallen in Jackson over the last 20 years (these numbers are easy to compile). It is important, though, to note that Jackson crime has roughly followed national trends, peaking in the early 1990s due to the crack epidemic and the last bad ecocomy, then falling throughout the good economy of the 1990s. It is rising this year, in tough economic times, around the country as it is here.

ladd

Apr 7 2003

By now, it seems most should be aware of the relationship between the economic world and crime on a grand scale. As soon as the war was announced on CNN, I exclaimed over dinner with friends, "There goes the neighborhood!" Sadly, most of them thought I was speaking of Iraq.

Knol Aust

Apr 8 2003

By now, it seems most should be aware of the relationship between the economic world and crime on a grand scale. As soon as the war was announced on CNN, I exclaimed over dinner with friends, "There goes the neighborhood!" Sadly, most of them thought I was speaking of Iraq.

Knol Aust

Apr 8 2003

Knol, I do agree that it's going to get harder and harder to afford to fight crime with this hideous economy. And states and locals are going to get hit the worst, as they already are in education. That's why it's more important than ever for everyone to do their part to help prevent crime, rather than just finger-pointing. By the way, I'd like to invite anyone reading this piece to disagree with it and/or to add your comments about what needs to happen to prevent crime in Jackson. As I've said, I plan to do a number of pieces about crime in the future, and input is so vital and welcome. And please feel free to share particular problems you've found with the police department as well as other agencies (without libeling anyone, of course. Malice doesn't help). In this piece, I explore the overall hysteria, much generated by the media, over crime in Jackson and how that gets in the way of doing the real and more difficult work of finding specific solutions. I in no way mean to say that the police do everything right; I'm not their defenders. Please share your thoughts.

ladd

Apr 8 2003

Your arguments are well-supported and well-written, but I think "The Point," in their (belated) latest issue, hit the nail on the head by putting the blame for the high crime rate on the city administration itself. I don't know who's heading up that rag, but you gotta admire their tenacity. Anyway, kudos for a great article. Simon

simon

Apr 10 2003

Simon: Thanks for the kudos. Actually it seems like a lot of the stories, both in print and on television, are blaming the police chief, the mayor or the city administration -- at this juncture I don't think anyone quite has that tack locked up. So far, I've also seen little evidence that blame lies squarely or completely at any particular feet -- that assumption seems simplistic at best. Part of the point of my story was to document the fact that all of these media outlets and some citizen groups seem to be focused on finding someone to "put the blame on" instead of looking for the solution. I'd assume that the economy, the 7% unemployment in Mississippi, proliferation of guns, problems in the judicial system, the high-school dropout rate and, yes, and the slow reorganization of JPD have all contributed to the problem, along with other factors we'll never discover if we just proclaim "it's the mayor!" and go have a beer. I'd argue that it's pointless and malicious to spend all one's time (whether in a meeting or in an article) looking for a scapegoat. Once we choose that scapegoat, what's next?

donna

Apr 10 2003

"What's next?" If it's the chief, fire him. But guess what? Moore is the 3rd police chief in Jackson since Mayor Johnson was elected (I'm counting Robert Johnson since he was there when Johnson was elected--and he's the fourth if you count the interim Jim French), and statistics are now showing that improvement is not happening. As for the other factors you mentioned, there's no point in recent memory when the metro area has not had problems with poverty, unemployment (I remember when unemployment was much higher), and high school dropouts--but the perception of crime was not as powerful. So since the changes made at the top in the police department haven't worked, and all other root causes dear to the hearts of progressives haven't really changed, what's left to think? People much smarter than me have actually spent money and studied problems with crime in Jackson--nothing wrong with trying to understand what's going on. But maybe it's finally time to stop studying and start VOTING PEOPLE OUT.

JW

Apr 11 2003

JW: I couldn't agree with this statement more: "nothing wrong with trying to understand what's going on." That's exactly what I'm arguing for -- some intelligent analysis of crime without all the sophomoric finger-pointing. Just about everything I've seen on crime in the media just in the last week has been so simplistic, so na-na-na-na-boo-boo, that it's embarassing to me as a journalist and a Jacksonian. I've read direct quotes from the chief that are completely lifted out of context of what he was saying and twisted to support the journalist or columnist's argument. What does this help? We are mired in the need to blame here when we need to be banding together as a city to help prevent crime and assist with a form of community policing that works. I do not want to be a defender of the chief or anyone else on the taxpayer rolls, and I plan to challenge the PD on several specific policies in upcoming issues, to hold their feet to the fire on specific issues. But I go to the chief's press conferences, and I go hear him and his other officers speak around the city. That's more than I can say for many of the folks quoting him these days. And when they do quote him, they are usually lifting his words out of context to make it sound like he is flippant about crime. He isn't. It's a fabrication. What I hear him say consistently is: Here's what we're trying to do. And: I can't "stop" crime, but I'm doing everything I can. Why not examine the specifics of "everything I can" rather than chiding him for (honestly) saying he can't "stop" crime? Meantime, I have heard NO ONE ask him an intelligent question about exactly what is "community policing" and exactly how we can all participate. Why is this? Are we so used to bashing Jackson here that that is all we know how to do? Or, is it because many elements who are complaining -- many of whom don't even live in the city -- want the mayor out of office? Is it mere politics? You say yourself to start "VOTING PEOPLE OUT." Fine, we all have the power to do that. But why don't we, meantime, try to dissect this crime puzzle and figure out what can be done (which many community members are indeed trying to do while others whine and point fingers). That, to me, is a "progressive" approach.

ladd

Apr 11 2003

I totally agree that reform of many offices (via voting) is probably a good start. Still, I can not help but think that one major problem is the exodus to the suburbs that has been ongoing for many years. This exodus has done nothing but harm the city and created a hostile environment between urban and suburban. If more people would fight for their neighborhoods and consistently report suspicious activities to the local preceints rather than fleeing, I feel that crime would begin a new trend downwards. I am no crime analyst but could safely assume if the 'criminals' felt insecure in a neighborhood or community they would choose to leave or cease operations. As well, the communication with preceints would relay a feeling of support to our police officers and probably be a huge morale booster for them. Before we start blaming any city officials we need to better gauge our own actions. Are we enabling situations by not reporting crimes or overlooking crimes that occur on our streets? Are we, as a community (especially urban), doing all we can to promote a healthy neighborhood and city? Are we becoming victims by assuming "it won't happen to me"? By staying indoors, locked up and riddled with fear, we only allow the criminals and potential criminals more ground to operate. I think it's time we take control of the city by having more outdoor events, exercising in the streets (walking, jogging, cycling, etc), walking our dogs, actually meeting our neighbors, and watching out for their belongings as we do our own -- not only in broad daylight but during twilight and evening hours! Simply, it seems many want the city to change overnight without exerting any personal effort other than blame. To be honest, I feel like the crime problem is EVERYONE'S problem and everyone does have some part in the blame... Inaction is the worst action! Support the police, our city and our government and utilize your rights to vote to make further changes! If we do not begin to take back the city proactively, we are the true criminals.

Knol Aust

Apr 11 2003

Knol, you are a wise man. You are so right: one of the best ways to fight crime is to have active streets and businesses in the city, night and day, as another wise man, Matthew Dalbey, talks about in this story. Last night, when I drove into Fondren for Arts, Eats and Beats, I literally got tears in my eyes. It could have been any big city at night -- Atlanta's Buckhead came to mind. A diversity of people were everywhere, laughing and strolling and saying hello to neighbors, watching street art, shopping and eating. It was beautiful, positive and what Jackson can be. My beret's off to Camp Best and the Fondren Renaissance folks. Now let's see this enthusiasm spread to more of the city.

ladd

Apr 11 2003

Donna, in my view, the answer lies in the last sentence of your comment above - enthusiasm. Nothing needs to be hidden or swept under the rug. Lay it all out, face it positively, with entusiasm. Let me add that I felt the same way you did when I rounded Old Canton Road into the Fondren district the other night. I got a lump in my throat when I saw all the people. I assumed the crowds would be sparse after all the buzz lately about crime. Was I wrong! That kind of enthusiasm in a community is the answer. It's contagious.

dw

Apr 12 2003

DW, You couldn't be more right. So much of it is about personal perception. I look around me in this city and I see so much hope, potential and opportunity to make a difference -- more than I ever did in other places I've lived. The creative community is rich and waiting to explode. Last night, we were in an Ironworks loft doing a photo shoot. The young people in that room -- writers, theater folks, dancers, athletes, students -- were so talented and proud of the city and the state; they're not walking around looking for unsubstantiated ways to tear it down. As one JSU student shot the photos, one of the models sketched him shooting. We were working at a set in front of the equipment used for the outdoor dance performance the night before during the Fondren Arts, Eats and Beats. The hope in that loft was palpable. I see this kind of scene *all the time* in this city. I say that the rest of us just get together and drown out the naysayers who just want to scowl at (or obliterate) efforts, like those of Camp Best of Fondren. Call them out, and invite them to join the creative movement that's going to happen with or without them. By the way, at the Fondren dance event, a group of young professionals were standing around talking and one said laughingly, but with disbelief, "Have you seen the latest Northside Sun 'armed robbery' headline"? I picked up the paper yesterday, and would have split a gut with laughter -- had it not been so sad and indicative of sensationalist media coverage of crime in this city: (p. 1, bottom-right story): Large headline: "Northsider robbed at gunpoint in driveway" First sentence: "A woman robbed on the Northside last week was so startled that she was unsure if her assailant had a weapon." Police quote: "He demanded her money, but the complainant was unclear on whether or not he used a weapon." I feel for this woman and hope the robber is caught, but this story is certainly food for thought. Keep the faith ...

ladd

Apr 12 2003

Never say the Clarion-Ledger doesn't bang the (same) drum about crime, and often ... April 6: http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0304/06/meric.html April 10: http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0304/10/meric.html April 11: http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0304/11/m04.html April 12: http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0304/12/leditorial.html Beyond one of the most selective use of quotes I've ever witnessed -- and I've sure witnessed some lately in Jackson -- one of my quibbles with this string of articles is that they are stomping the same ground over and over again. Say you'll "stop" crime, chief, say it! You're responsible for every bit of it. Say it! This, which he would be lying if he went long with, contributes to hysteria, while offering few solutions for anyone outside the police department. It seems the Clarion-Ledger, just like so many other folks, approach crime in a reactive rather than proactive way. This statement in today's editorial caught my eye: "Chief Moore can't solve Jackson's crime problems single handedly. It takes a community-wide effort. Still, such statements mock the problem and deepen the very perception of lawlessness that Moore now claims is the 'real' problem. Perception is changed by action, not words." If the Clarion-Ledger would consider and report the police's statements in their entirety and context, they might not see quite the same mockery. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, too, but sensationalist media coverage is creating the "perception of lawlessness" they speak of -- without helping fix anything. I definitely agree with the "action" part they pontificate about. So, C-L thinkers: What actions? What exactly should be part of that "community-wide effort" you gloss over? What should all of the different elements do? What does community policing mean to you? How is it different from traditional policing? Is it a good idea? Why, or why not? Give us some specifics. Please. If the C-L would tone down the doomsaying and hysterical proclamations and start giving us some real intelligent, researched solutions, we might all gain something from this. Maybe a Ph.D would indeed come in handy over there. Couldn't hurt. Why ridicule the need for educated thought here? Maybe that sarcasm plays well in some parts of the state, but here in Jackson we need serious discussion.

ladd

Apr 12 2003

(One more quibble: Why not tell us which media outlet -- in this case a "TV station" -- they're quoting in turn quoting the chief? That way, we can look up the TV spot on the Web and read it ourselves. Not that television is beyond selective quote use, but these secondary and third-level "gotcha" quotes is making this doomsday thread hard to follow ... and swallow.)

ladd

Apr 12 2003

I'm not from Jackson, and I didn't move out of Jackson into the Suburbs. I moved into Madison from another town. I notice Madison police patrols almost every street corner at night. I notice when you come to Jackson at night you never see a Jackson police car on the streets. Could this be the cause of the crime in Jackson.

Chuncky Lover 24

Jun 1 2003

Chuncky, we mean city folk won't beat you up since you moved there from elsewhere then. ;-) Just kidding: Welcome to the conversation. I don't know Madison well, but it's pretty small, right? And its tax base is a lot stronger than Jackson's, I believe. All that probably means the cops can spread the wealth around a little easier, so to speak. Jackson is indeed facing the problem of how to pay for more police officers, and how to attract good officers with what I believe is a $22,000 a year starting salary. (Anyone know what they make in Madison? I haven't looked into it.) Thanks for bringing it up; this is a very important point to this discussion. I will, though, add that I live in the city and am all over it regularly, although in the suburbs much less often. I see police officers all the time in Fondren, Downtown, South and West Jackson and so on. Unfortunately, they're not always where a crime occurs, but common sense tells us some of that can't be helped. If an about-to-be criminal sees a cop, he/she is probably going to move on to somewhere where there isn't one.

ladd

Jun 1 2003

I'm not sure what areas were visited in Jackson but I've never had problems spotting patrol cars and beat officers in the Fondren, Belhaven and Metrocenter areas... Seems Pct. 2 & 4 are covered pretty thickly at this moment. I see many a day during my work hours in Pct. 2 and evening hours in pct 4. Interestingly enough, I can't say I've ever seen a Madison police car (I've lived in the metro area for 27 years)... So, I really guess it's about time and space in this situation.

Knol Aust

Jun 1 2003

I stand to be corrected. I have seen heavy patrols in Jackson near the downtown and the Fondren area. I guess how to stop crime is to include the citizen, improve quality of life, education, and hold the parents accountable. I notice where I live we do not have appartment. The reason for this because of high crime. People who rent a house will be more likely to keep up the house and lawn. There are also home owners org. which enforces neighborhood rules. Improving the quality of life would be arresting those who commit those minor crimes such as littering , breaking curfew, and so on. Education is important. Kids should have higher self-esteem. This is where school should get involed. The students should write down want they are interested in (example: If a kid wants to be a fireman Make that kid join the fire explorers) and have them do it. There are alot of thinks that help raise a kids self-esteem. This will make them do better in the class. The parents should get involed with the childs education. The parents should know what there child is learning. Also, is a kid does bad then the parents should be held accountable (Example: If a teen breaks into a car then the teen and teen's parents should pay for the damages to that car).

Chunky

Jun 1 2003

I've always felt parents should be required to have a license. To obtain the license, individuals must complete a set of core classes to be able to bring another life into this world and keep it as their own child... Of course, the license can be revoked as well... I guess the method of revocation already exists (Human Services). I think it's sad that we as a society hold pet owners more responsible for the actions of their animals (which are just as sporadic) than we do parents with their children.

Knol Aust

Jun 1 2003

And Human Services does such a GOOD JOB at that sort of thing. . . RAOTFLMBO :)

JW

Jun 2 2003

JW, what does RAOTFLMBO mean? I pride myself on not knowing any Net acronym (or whatever the geeks call them -- Knol?) longer than then three letters. ;-D

ladd

Jun 2 2003

Seriously, Knol and JW, I think the fact that mistakes happen on both ends (parents and Human Services) shows that all this is much more complicated than issuing a license or pointing fingers at the city administration. I still will always maintain that the foundation for a safe and structured society is good public education and equal opportunity. And when I say good education, I don't mean only being proficient at math skills that can help get jobs, although that's certainly needed as well: I mean learning that life is ultimately about caring for other people, for the larger humanity, no matter their background, race or whatever. I was reading W.E.B. Du Bois over the weekend. With JPS schools over 90 percent black, and facing very challenging times under No Child Left Behind, his words are as true now as a century ago: "I am an earnest advocate of manual training and trade teaching for black boys, and for white boys, too. ... I insist that the object of all true education is not to make men carpenters, it is to make carpenters men; there are two means of making the carpenter a man, each equally important; the first is to give the group and community in which he works liberally trained teachers and leaders to teach him and his family what life means; the second is to give him sufficient intelligence and technical skill to make him an efficient workman." He called for "a good system of common schools, well-taught, conveniently located, and properly equipped..." He added: "Men of America, the problem is plain before you. Here is a race transplanted through the criminal foolishness of your fathers. Whether you like it or not the millions are here, and here they will remain. If you do not lift them up, they will pull you down. Education and work are the levers to uplift a people. Work alone will not do it unless inspired by the right ideals and guided by intelligence. Education must not simply teach work--it must teach Life."

ladd

Jun 2 2003

A century after Du Bois wrote "The Negro Problem," I would suggest that "lifting up" means ensuring that opportunities and tools are there for all young people, regardless of ability to pay to attend a private school. I went to an integrated public school in Neshoba County (integrated when I was in third grade), and I wouldn't trade the experience--or Ms. Hodges, or Mr. Hardy or my friend Doug Greer--for all the private-school education in the world. As an adult, I can go back and read anything I missed, but I can't recapture the experience of studying every day in a truly diverse and stimulating environment where all the lessons weren't taught by rote from the textbook. When I was in grad school at Columbia, I was surrounded by a lot of students who had gone to private schools, and they had read a lot I hadn't, and had experiences I hadn't. But I knew a lot they didn't, too. Of course, this isn't to say that kids in private schools are necessarily worse off. I've met some amazing young people lately who attend private schools who are determined to reach out beyond their borders and to live in the larger world, and I applaud them wholeheartedly. They will be the change, or at least part of it. I'm getting long-winded here (I know, big surprise), but what I am advocating is not ignoring the most simple answer to our crime problems, even if it seems like the most difficult to fix. Apply the old Occam's Razor tenet of scientific logic, and you'll see how simple it really is: People without a good education and hope for a bright future are the ones who most often commit crimes. The truth is, if we decide to continue ignoring this fact, crime is going to continue to grow, and we'll keep arguing over which Band-Aids to apply. However, we could choose to treat the symptoms, even as we try to intelligently cure the malady. That's my vote.

ladd

Jun 2 2003

I agree whole-heartedly Donna. The reference to the "license" was merely a "solution" we pondered when discussing a lack of parenting skills (being taught and exercised) and a lack of parental responsibility. We actually viewed it as being part of a grander scale of education for children and parents alike. The way we viewed it, the child would have a better chance if the parents entered the world of parenting with a little textbook knowledge about child rearing and discipline... With children rearing children, it seems that the problem of parental responsibility (including education, nurturing, and discipline) are being lost. I am not speaking of all parents but it does seem to be a growing trend that needs to be addressed outside of the methods currently implemented.

Knol Aust

Jun 2 2003

RAOTFLMBO = Rolls Around On The Floor Laughing My Butt Off Who'd have thought that geek would ever been chic?

Knol Aust

Jun 2 2003

Geek is very chic, Knol. The guys that sat around playing Doom and D&D and watching Star Trek reruns now have more money than God and control international commerce by maintaining the Internet. They may be light a few million since the dot.com bubble, but it's the difference between Bill Gates being merely one of the richest men in the world instead of THE richest. Geek on, dude!

JW

Jun 2 2003

Y'all, understand that I don't have room to complain about geekdom. It's been good to my family. After all, Todd has published more than 30 computer books (he and Nina Parikh are now finishing one on digital video), and he and I were firmly ensconsed in writing about the whole dot-com and early-Internet madness, from Colorado and then Silicon Alley in New York. (And why do you think this site is such a cool community blog: He recently published "Blog On: Building Online Communities with Web Logs.") In fact, we met when we both writing columns for a computer magazine. So, no offense meant to geeks, even if the "geek chic" trend has waned. ;-) To see inside Todd's "other" life, type his name into Amazon.com, or check out: http://www.mac-upgrade.com Can you tell how proud I am of him? ;-D

ladd

Jun 2 2003

All, This thread reminded me of something I wanted to bring up about Mitch Tyner. He openly (and honestly) states that he has never attended a day of public school in Mississippi. This fact gives me pause. I'm not sure about Haley or Sherman or even Ronnie for that matter (although I think the Musgrove kids are at Murrah - if anyone knows, let me know), but to me it is important that the people at the capitol have seen the system. Not heard about it or joked about it or read about it. I don't get into the whole class warfare thing, but in this arena it really gets me going. I attended public schools in Jackson County (which, I know, is different than attending public schools in, say, Sunflower County) and had a cousin my age who attended Jackson Academy. I saw first hand the differences in our experiences. The coast's economy has historically provided a decent tax base for good public schools. And the private schools down there are mainly parochial and small. Pascagoula's only secondary private school was Resurrection - a Catholic school that graduated about 30 a year to PHS's 500. We had none of those "Insert County Name" - Academies, and I never really realized why those schools were founded until college. My cousin and her gang lived in a world that in many ways was a million miles away from mine. I don't fault them for it. I know children don't pick the pre-school they will attend. The education I got transcended books and went straight to people - getting along with all stripes. And although PHS doesn't crank out the number of National Merit Finalists per year that Prep does, I had some excellent teachers in high school. I digress - I know people who have stayed away from public education in this state. For many reasons. I also know people who are champions of what many say is a dying, bureaucratic, over burdened system. I am proud of my public education, and I want a governor who knows what I'm talking about. (Hell, at least university!!!). Now tell me - am I crazy???

JLosset

Jun 2 2003

I don't think you're crazy, JLosset. What gets me is how unabasedly liberal in their politics these people often are--public school is fine except when it isn't for their little Muffy Sue Buffington or her brother, Biff. Doesn't Barbara Blackmon send her kids to St. Andrew's? I seem to remember that from a previous press article.

JW

Jun 2 2003

I certainly agree with you, Jay, that support and understanding of public education is necessary in anyone I would ever consider casting a vote for. The only private school I've ever attended was graduate school at Columbia. And even there, amid some pretty smart folks, I missed the "public" component, and the diversity in background and upbringing and race that it adds to the educational experience. And a good number of my classmates that had been in private schools their entire lives didn't seem to have any idea what went on outside the world they grew up in. I really felt quite sorry for their lack of "real world" experiences, even as I envied their better grounding in literature, the arts and world events than I had had growing up. I definitely agree that I prefer leaders (or people in general) who have a very "public" component to themóa connection to real people and their problems and their needs and desires. I probably wouldn't go as far as saying, though, that that's impossible from someone who attended a private school. There are different types of private schools, as you allude to--some set up to teach much more about the world than others. And I believe wholeheartedly in self-education, that you can purposefully set out to make up for your own deficiences in education, whether that means reading more literature and philosophy, or getting to know about the many different types of people you're not exposed to in school. Most importantly, we should not turn our own public-school bias--not that you're doing this--on any young person, including those at the academies originally established for what you and I probably would agree are the wrong reasons. They didn't make those decisions and for themselves, and I meet amazing students and teachers constantly from academies who want to teach and learn so much beyond the walls of their school building. In fact, the hunger for learning can be much greater when information and experiences are withheld from you; it makes you want it more. As we've heard often, "The Lord works in mysterious ways."

ladd

Jun 2 2003

After thinking about it, I want to take what I said even further: We cannot assume that because a person went to private school or an academy that he or she does not or cannot understand the need for good, diverse public education. That would be like saying that a white "liberal" (sorry to use a curse word ) or "moderate" cannot understand or sympathize or work to help problems in the black community--or vice versa. Different people can come from different places--thank goodness--to end up at a similar place. I, too, had some amazing public-school teachers--and I know some now. My life was changed immeasurably by my public-school teachers, including Mrs. Salter, the mother of Clarion-Ledger perspectives editor Sid Salter. I salute her, and the others like her.

ladd

Jun 2 2003

A friend of mine just pointed out that I am really showing my publik edducashun with the last line of my post: "I am proud of my public education, and I want a governor who knows what I'm talking about. (Hell, at least university!!!). Now tell me - am I crazy???" She's right - that didn't make a lot of sense. Mitch Tyner's answer to the Association of Educators didn't either: his parents went to public school and pulled themselves up to a position where they could afford a private education for their son. All the way to a J.D., Tyner stays on the private track. I don't want to start a Haley debate here (and I know this thread would be better under the actual Tyner article) - but it seems like Tyner may be the one who is really out of touch with Mississippi.

JLosset

Jun 2 2003

Following up my last post: I just had an amazing two-hour conversation with a young woman from Jackson Prep who is going to intern with me this summer. The conversation would shatter any stereotypes we public-school folk might have about private-school kids. She is open-minded and caring, and believes in diversity and pro-activity. She and I had so much in common, although we come from very different places and educational backgrounds. This is no surprise to me, but it so wonderful to affirm the knowledge every now and again. I really look forward to working with her this summer, and what I and the rest of the staff are going to learn from her.

ladd

Jun 2 2003

Jay, I'm going to bump your Tyner comment over to that blog if that's OK with you. I'd rather that discussion happen there.

ladd

Jun 2 2003

Who'd guess I was a private-school boy for most of my school years? I think it forced me to seek other worlds out of curiosity, rebellion and angst.

Knol Aust

Jun 2 2003

My point exactly. For me, growing up amid race hatred and fear pushed me to live among anything but. And some people, both in and outside of Mississippi, have tried to use Neshoba County against me my entire life. What happened there was not my fault, but I do feel like my family was part of the problem, so it doesn't bother me to feel like I have to pay back their piece of the societal debt, just as other offspring might pay off their family's car note or such. It's part of the cycle, I think. So, I think your initial point, Jay, was very good: We should support candidates who support public education. I'm just not sure how they get there is that important; it's just vital that they get there, and stay there.

ladd

Jun 2 2003

The Clarion-Ledger is starting to admit a bit more often that "perception" of out-of-control crime can be very harmful, whether to a city's economy, or to a casino's livelihood, as they addressed today. Why weren't they thinking of this months ago when they were fanning the flames of hysteria and making fun of city leaders when they warned about the harmful effects of poor "perception"? The C-L promises to take on Crime "Perceptions vs. Reality" in their new big-ass series on Jackson. Are they going to examine their own role in this? Or just point fingers at everyone else? The JFP challenges them to do a little public self-examination on this issue. From the "perception" editorial today: "Which is more damaging: Crime or the perception of crime? Jacksonians have wrangled with this over the past few years. ... As much as the reality of crime may be tough for gaming to handle, the potential losses from a poor perception of security at the state's casinos pose a greater risk. The industry employs nearly 33,000 workers with an annual payroll of almost $912 million. Tax revenues top $2 billion each year. Gaming areas ó and Jackson ó should act to keep the reality and perception of unchecked crime from taking hold." http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0310/07/leditorial.html C-L's Big-Ass Series on Jackson's Problems: http://www.clarionledger.com/news/special/jacksonproj2003/

ladd

Oct 7 2003

whose at fault? simple answers: the Governor - Rarely seen on the scene. doesn't approve cutting edge ideals for Mississippi's progress and growth. sides with the bureacracy. stifles and suffocates growth in Mississippi. the Police - for using gustapo tactics and racial profiling amidst selling the same drugs that they arrested somebody for a week prior. Very corrupt. the City Council - Nothing but a bunch of slackers collecting a check. if you want to start change, start here. VOTE THEM ALL OUT. the Mayor - For letting Jackson's bureacracy control him. Jackson could be on the fast track to progress if Mr. Johnson wasn't such a jellyfish. the segregated populous - Race relations in Mississippi is disgusting. have a wonderful day!

Black Man

Mar 22 2004