Jackson Free Press

Recent Jackson Police Department statistics reveal that major crime this year remains stubbornly high compared to last year's figures. Though the May 8-14 ComStat Overview Report reveals that crime is tracking 2 percent lower than the last ComStat figures—which the JFP obtained from an anonymous source and published several weeks ago—it still registers a 14.1 increase in crime over last year's numbers.

This year saw marked increases in every major category except rape. Carjackings saw the most dramatic increase, with a 91 percent hike over last year. Grand larceny saw the second biggest kick, at a 39 percent rise over 2005. There were 11 homicides, compared with nine at this time last year, and auto burglary saw a 16.4 percent rise.

Other increases included a 10 percent rise in aggravated assault and a 12 percent rise in armed robbery. There was also a 16 percent increase in house burglary.

Getting the ComStat report this time was far easier than the report the JFP broke weeks ago. In Melton's own words, the city never intended for the press to get its hands on last month's figures, which recorded a 16.4 percent increase in crime from 2005. Melton's earlier claims that the numbers are "looking good" could have been a reason for the city's tight grip on the numbers.

Dr. Gregory Price, director of the Mississippi Urban Research Center at Jackson State University, said the numbers are unreliable.

"Crime statistics always fall under 'the night watchman rule,'" Price said. "Suppose you're a police officer, and you go to my apartment and see somebody vandalizing my car. That somebody turns out to be my wife. How do you report that? Do you report it as auto burglary or battery? And then she slaps me. How do you report that after you find out she's my wife? Sometimes they don't make the call at all. The police officer might say 'you guys go in the house and work this out.' The bottom line is all the crime is never reported."

Price added that beat commanders may be tempted to adjust figures.

"They're always under pressure to report more crime or to report less crime, so there's going to be an inherent bias on more than one level," Price said.

There is no reason to think that ComStat figures are either more or less reliable than they were under the Johnson administration, however.

Some Jackson residents at the Precinct 2 COPS meeting said the increase in crime over last year is barely noticeable because crime felt painfully high in Precinct 2 even back when the numbers were more favorable.

"Crime has been crazy in this side of town for years. It's like people don't care anymore," says Robert Kenny. "We've got old women getting beat up in their own homes, and a lot of the criminals are kids. It's like the kids don't have hearts anymore."

Kenny is a champion of the "more business equals less crime" argument, and suggests that associations like the MetroJackson Chamber of Commerce are not adequately representing West or South Jackson.

"I think we need our own 'Jackson Chamber of Commerce' instead of a MetroJackson Chamber because I don't think the other guys are really working in the best interest of the entire city. We're just not getting our fair share. There's all this construction in other places, but all the car dealers and others are bailing out. If everybody's bailing out and there are no jobs, how can you expect this area to recover?"

Jackson resident and former Councilwoman Bettye Dagner-Cook said crime is on the rise all over, but that people take reports more to heart when hearing reports from West Jackson.

"Business people always said they're moving away from this side of town to get away from crime, but they get robbed up at Northpark all the time. And they can't say business left because they didn't get any customers. People were always walking in and out of that Home Depot over here behind the Metrocenter. I think their tax breaks were up after so many years, so they just packed up and left," Dagner-Cook said.

Money problems inside the police department could also be hampering citywide crime fighting efforts. Cuts in overtime, reduced prospects for promotion and a drop in morale are driving many officers to apply with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and nearby police departments like Flowood.

"People are trying like crazy to get out of here," said one policeman, who asked to remain anonymous. "Two years ago, the feeling was different with us and the new recruits coming out of the academy, but they just don't want to stay around anymore. They're succumbing to low morale, and they're putting applications everywhere but here."

The city of Jackson has not responded to information requests filed seven months ago on the rate of attrition among city police officers, but two sources—both anonymous—say financial problems are chipping away at law enforcement.

One source claims the new Jackson Police Department headquarters on Pascagoula Street has been ready since January, and that it is only the city's inability to buy furniture that has kept it unoccupied.

City Administration Director Peyton Prospere denied the allegation, saying the city had simply "not been handed the keys."

"I can tell you that the January thing is flat-out wrong," Prospere said. "The furniture will start to be delivered next week, and they'll be moving in as a matter of course, over the next six weeks on a staged basis."

JPD Safety Administrator Linda Woolley, who is overseeing the new building, did not return calls for comment.

Former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said the police department may also have recently disqualified itself for increments of the $17 million in federal COPS grant money to fund new recruits.

President Bill Clinton created COPS grant money in 1999 to help growing cities increase the ranks of their police officers by temporarily funding the salaries of new recruits. The recruits were expected to tame the city's crime problem long enough for new business to be attracted to the area and provide a tax basis for permanently funding the police force. But to qualify for the money, the city had to prove that it was increasing its JPD head count, and since the arrival of the new administration in July 2005, the latest reported tally was 480 officers, a decrease of about 20 officers from the year before. With more officers looking elsewhere for employment, that number is likely to continue dropping.

"I'm not saying they don't want to work. We have a fine police force, but I just don't see the police as much as I used to. I'm hearing they're not getting raises, and there's no overtime anymore, so they're leaving," Dagner-Cook said.

State Sen. Alice Harden, also a resident of Precinct 2, said policing would only work for the community if the community stopped taking a passive role in policing.

"The hard part is getting your neighbors to look out their doors and take an interest in what's going on around them. People just want to go inside and let the police take care of everything but it can't work like that. You have to care. You have to care about what's going on with your neighbor. Whatever's happening down the street isn't their problem. It's your problem."

Click here to see the JFP Crime Blog and read the PDF of the full ComStat report.

Previous Comments

ID

66423

Comment

It doesn't help when our police officers are offering victims of home burglaries a new security system while writting up the report! Seems like they are more interested in making a little side money on the crime then actually capturing the criminal.

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-06-15T16:32:27-06:00

ID

66424

Comment

I disagree with Dr Price's logic about how crime stats are compiled. It dosen't matter if someone breaking the law is you wife, child or anyone else. A crime is still a crime. The mayor thought that the criminals would just pack up and leave because he said to do so. Wake up Melton, this is the real world. It's going to take a lot more that tough talk to solve our problems. I have yet to see the mayor follow up on his campaign promise to clean up the Wood stree area. He also campaigned in front of an elderly woman's house that was a victim of crime. He has yet to be seen anywhere during our recent attacks on the elderly. He has left Mary Johnson homeless with the threat of being evicted. All bow down to King Frank.

Author

lance

Date

2006-06-15T17:57:28-06:00