Jackson Free Press

The Clarion-Ledger editorial boys weigh in today with another brillliant screed about crime. The guys—who are now into community-style policing now that the mayor/chief who were into it, too, are gone—say that because crime is up dramatically under Melton, the "saddened but perhaps wiser" Melton is doing the right thing by calling a crime summit to talk about various ways to fight crime (presumably beyond endorsing and electing a wild, west mayor who promised to cure it in 90 days). And, warns the Ledger dudes, be sure to note who is not there because THEY CLEARLY DO NOT CARE ABOUT CRIME, the way the Ledge and all the rest of us, and the Ledge's edit-men, do:

All public officials - any remotely connected with the Jackson/Hinds criminal justice system - should take pains to attend. And citizens should note who is absent, who apparently doesn't care about public safety in the capital city.

[giggle]

Previous Commentsshow

Aren't the departments so strapped that supplying a member would put them under code for the duties of the moment? should i go as a citizen~or do i not care? i don't care what frank has to say at his meeting...meaningless.

daniel johnson

Aug 8 2006

This is an obvious shot across Peterson's bow. Which makes me wonder which underqualified Great White Hope the Ledge plans to endorse to run against her this time around... Cheers, TH

Tom Head

Aug 8 2006

By the way, I'm quite certain that the vast majority of Jackson's population of 180,000 won't be at the meeting. Should this come to happen, I assume the Clarion-Ledger will do the honorable thing and sheepishly admit that the majority of Jacksonians "[don't] care about public safety in the capital city" and focus on more substantive issues, like the arts and economic development. Cheers, TH

Tom Head

Aug 8 2006

Anyone listening to Dale Danks and Ben on the radio talking about the Crime Summit? It's so good that Dale is in a position to give back to Jackson after all these years. What a guy! Gee, would he be able to give back if he hadn't sued the city left and right after he lost? Also, don't want to be "all negative" about the Crime Summit; but, when your best idea is to give a "special number" to electricians, plumbers, taxi cab drivers, bus drivers and others like them so they can call in suspected crimes it raises eyebrows. This is Dale's "big idea" from 1983!!! Ummm, why can't I have that "special number" to call when I see suspected crime? I have a cell phone. It is not just "blue collar" workers with radios in their trucks that can spot crime. Also, I thought you could call 601-960-1234 to report a problem to the police without calling 911. Oh lord, now he is talking about having summits for everything! I'm sure a few goods things will come from this. But, let's not lose sight of the real problem, and that is a lack of leadership from the Mayors office, the police, and our fire department. Smoke and mirrors!

pikersam

Aug 8 2006

I'm sick of all this. Since Melton has been in office, there have been several bank robberies, business robberies, home burglaries, shootings, car thefts, car burglaries, and physical attacks on a strip of road less than 1.5 miles and 90% residential. That's just my damned street and since Melton took office. Before that, there was some crime but not to this extent. I hear its about the same when you go over a few blocks to Northside throughout the same strip... And there's a school on that street. Before Melton, there were crimes in the area but not this concentrated and often. Seems the criminals have had a summit of their own -- in my neighborhood! :::end vent:::

kaust

Aug 8 2006

Exactly Knol! The Meltonites can crow all they want that crime is higher because the police were cooking the books before Melton came along. But, the proof is physical. You can see and feel that crime is almost more rampant than it was in the early 90's. Now it is in almost every corner of Jackson, not just certain areas. Violent crime is up more than the price of oil! Police are down. Leadership is non-existent and has agendas that are not helping the people - just themselves. But, we are supposed to believe that a couple of hours one evening talking about crime is going to solve our woes? Come on!?!

pikersam

Aug 8 2006

Yep, they go from refusing to talk to the public at all to having "summits" for everything in site. That is the new sound bite o' da week. (Hmmm.) Actually, the argument about crime being higher due to past books-cooking has officially fallen apart. Y'all will see what I mean in tomorrow's issue.

DonnaLadd

Aug 8 2006

The more I hear about crime rates in other cities that have some amount of Katrina evacuees, the more I wonder if this has to play at least some part in this spike. Purse snatchings and car thefts are up, but murder is far from rampant, even though it may be slightly up from last year (which was a down year for this category, even when you factor in that unbelievable December). I'm not downplaying the crime rate... Hell, a member of my family got her purse snatched the weekend before last while she went into the post office. Of course, she left the damn car completely unlocked and left her damn purse right there in the front seat. Yes, you SHOULD be able to do that. But, you're just asking for trouble when there are so many broke asses in town today. I'm just thankful that she didn't leave her car running, like she's prone to do. It would have undoubtedly been gone. I wish there were a frame of reference with Melton and this before Katrina. He wasn't even in office 2 months before Katrina happened. I used to not put any stock in this theory. But, now that I've seen that most of the crime we hear about are purse snatchings, car thefts and morons trying to rob an Outback (not rape and murder), maybe there's some truth to it.

millhouse

Aug 8 2006

I agree with millhouse. Melton is incompetent and his so-called strategies may well lead to a long-term increase in the crime rate if left unchecked, but I fail to see how they could, what, sextuple the carjacking rate in two months without affecting the rape or murder rate. It's broke folks who came up here from New Orleans and are simply desperate. The solution is economic development--the same thing that led to a national decrease in crime during the Clinton/Gingrich economic boom of the late 90s. I don't mean to say "don't look at the elephant," and crime should of course still be reported on, but the local TV media really need to spend some time talking about the good things that are going on in this city, too, so that we can encourage more economic development and actually reduce the number of crimes. Cheers, TH

Tom Head

Aug 8 2006