The Precinct 4 Community Oriented Policing & Government group (COPS) met at the Precinct 4 Headquarters on Thursday, February 22, 2007. Bob Oertel called the meeting to order at 5:30 and led us through introductions.

Zoning & Environmental Court Issues
It was reported that Howard Gober had been arrested again but was released because of his illness. The City did clean up his house after WLBT did a special report on the condition of his house.  Joe Lewis of Code Enforcement had another meeting with a neighborhood group that evening and was unable to attend.  He has confirmed being available for the March meeting.

Nothing new has happened on the noise ordinance. City Council did not have funds to purchase the units @ "$3,000 each".   We have heard a large range of prices for these items and we are looking to find out what the exact model we are choosing and the purchase package that will include training and calibration unit(s).  Susan Lunardini representing the Jackson Police Foundation is raising funds to provide the high quality decibel meters. Some concern was expressed about the low decibel level (55 db) currently in the language of the City's new ordinance. Even though it is very low, it is within the national average of 50-60 db at 100’.

Concern about loud home alarms was raised. An episode the previous week in which a pet inside a house continually set off an alarm was mentioned. At close range, home alarms sound off at approximately 200 db. Commander Sansom noted that police car sirens are now mounted on the front of police cars instead of on the top because of the hearing loss caused many officers with the top mounted sirens. One resident reported he had told Chief Anderson he would buy a decibel meter for the City if it would be used.

Mental Health Concerns
Bob Oertel recounted the previous meeting's guest speaker Ms. Tamara Thomas, a mental health professional with Hinds County.  He reminded us of the three ways to respond to mental health concerns as reported at the January meeting.  This is what we gathered:

1. File commitment papers (as a family or non-family member) including signing an affidavit.  Potentially dangerous for the one filing the papers.
2. Swear out a disturbing the peace complaint.  After review, the judge signs a commitment order but it is only good for 72 hours.
3. Contact Adult Protective Services- anonymity is preserved and they will investigate.

Jim White recommended asking Michael Raff to come speak to the group to answer any further questions, there are some things that we need clarified. We also need phone numbers and contacts for the responses above.

Conflict of Meeting Times with Crime Summit
For the past several months, our meetings have overlapped with the Crime Summit. The Crime Summit meets on the last Thursday of each month which can conflict with our 4th Thursday meetings. Our meeting times and days were requested by JPD.  Motions to change our current meeting time and change the time of our meetings failed so we will continue to meet at 5:30 on the 4th Thursday. In this regard, it was noted the Crime Summit will last for one year only so the conflict with be short lived, due to end in July.

New Secretary
Current secretary Jim White is retiring on February 28, 2007, and moving to Oak Island, North Carolina. Belmont Trapp was elected to become the new secretary and Buddy Graham volunteered to be her assistant.

The Report Formerly Known As COMSTAT Now Known As
Ask the Commander
Commander Sansom noted JPD crime analysis is in transition and COMSTAT is no longer provided. COMSTAT, based on “reported” crime instead of what investigation proved the real crime to be.  For instance, the gift of a car to a drug dealer in exchange for product is then reported as a theft.  Or the seizing of a car by an unpaid prostitute is classified as a car jacking.  (The stabbing and gasoline-dousing of a woman with intention of setting her ablaze classified as aggravated assault?)  These kind of misleading reports lead to inaccurate and ineffective data is the claim of the chief and JPD spokespersons.

Bob Oertel told of seeing an early version of the crime report planned for the City’s web site. (The most recent is now up at http://www.cityofjacksonms.org/government/police/crimestats)  He expressed optimism about its usefulness. The information is presented alphabetically by street.  It is a good start, and other possible categorization methods should be easily tallied such as separation by precinct, ward, crime type, etc. Commander Sansom promised to voice Bob’s concern to the appropriate authorities in order to make the crime report more usable and appropriate. It was noted that in the past there has been but one person responsible for the updating the city’s webpage. When that person is sick or on vacation, no one else has been able to update and add content to the site or manage city-oriented email.  It is hoped that this new site will not be as cumbersome to update.

A long discussion followed about making the crime reports available by emails through the neighborhood associations or a mailing list of concerned citizens. Concern about violations of the Federal Privacy Act was mentioned. Quality of Life officers were asked if they could make timely reports to neighborhood association contacts. It was noted that manpower is an issue in this. Last year at this time there were 75 officers in Precinct 4. Now there are only 45 with up to 5 of those looking for positions in other police departments where their pay and benefits will be up to twice what the City of Jackson offers.

It was noted in this regard that calls for service for civil issues can no longer be answered. JPD does not have the officers to make sure pizza parlors put the right toppings on pizzas or tree services cut trees properly. There are 8 beats in Precinct 4, officers are very busy, and there are not enough officers to do all that is requested of them.

Quality of Life officers reported that in addition to other duties, they attend several neighborhood watch meetings each week. Malinda McCafferty volunteered to check with Precinct 4 authorities each week and email those interested in knowing the latest crime report.

Quality of Life officers commended the block captains for the various neighborhood watch groups. They noted that any report of a crime or call for service should include as many details as possible to help the officers respond quickly and appropriately. Amanda Overby was commended for her informative emails.

In response to a question, it was noted that Precinct 4 officers average 225 arrests per month.

Regarding the low number of officers in Precinct 4, it was noted the Police Academy lasts for 3 months. New officers ride with a veteran officer for another 3 months. It takes close to a year for new recruits to become seasoned and ready for the streets.

Several residents commended the Citizens’ Police Academy. To participate, people must be 21 years old. All citizens who graduate from the Citizens’ Police Academy can participate in the Ride Along Program in which they ride-along with a police officer on patrol. Jim White and Belmont Trapp commended the Citizens’ Police Academy as being very informative, worthwhile, and exciting.

Several residents reported on less than adequate response by Precinct 4 officers in suspected drug dealing cases. They were asked to report the time and location so that follow-up will take place. It was noted that officers follow a priority protocol based on the severity of the calls for service.

The case of a panhandler on South Service Road at Lakeland Drive was noted. The Jeep Cherokee that seemed to be assisting the panhandler was towed the day before our meeting. Several people warned that such panhandlers are often scam artists who make their living “working the sign.” For instance, the panhandler who works Frontage at County Line Road often uses the same ploy in Terry.

Commander Sansom urged residents to report situations in which officers do not seem to be doing their job adequately. He will investigate and take appropriate action. He can not seek accountability as commander in these situations if citizens do not share the pertinent information with him.

Concern was expressed about the waste of JPD time in answering false home and business alarms. It was noted that the private alarm companies make the decision to notify police. The City has a false alarm statute but it is not enforced. If a $20 fine was collected for each false alarm, the City would have collected $200,000 in Precinct 4 alone in 2006. Atlanta sends a $75 bill for each home or business alarm answered while Los Angeles charges $100 for each alarm answered.

Whistles
Local businessman Levorn Jones demonstrated his “whistle” alarm for men and women to carry and activate if they sense danger.

City Councilman Marshand Crisler
City Councilman Marshand Crisler responded to previous comments about extremely low pay for police by saying City Council is well aware of the gravity of this issue. In the previous city administration, a consent decree was agreed upon tying the pay of fire and police personnel to each other. There are three ways to raise money: raise taxes, raise fees, or raise fines. The latter two are more politically acceptable.

A major problem with crime in Jackson and the cityis the lack of enforcement of existing statutes, for which the judges and courts must be held responsible. Most judges are elected but citizens know little about them or their work. He noted that WAPT reported the case of one judge who tries only 10 cases per year. We let judges off the hook instead of holding them accountable. We have to provide higher pay for public safety officers (police and fire).

It is possible to use the savings from having fewer officers to pay higher salaries for remaining officers but only with approval by the current administration (Mayor’s office). City Council does not have the authority to change the way JPD budget is spent, only the Mayor and the chief can.

He noted that a current recruiting and retention effort has identified 12 ways to generate additional revenues without raising taxes on anyone except hotel guests. A $5 per night tax would generate $5 million in additional revenues.

He noted further that all officers need raises (not just merit pay increases which cause all sorts of problems) and we need to allow JPD to recruit people who live outside the city limits.

Assistant Chief Brent Winstead
P4 COPS was pleased to welcome former commander and now Assistant Chief Brent Winstead to our meeting. He has completed Homeland Security Training in Washington, D.C., and is now in charge of investigations, communications, and patrols. He noted that low pay and high turnover rates are real problems in communications. The community plays a huge role in crime prevention and crime solving. It is hard to get young officers and even harder to keep them. He noted that he had over 70 officers in Precinct 4 when he was commander and the sheer number of officers made it easier to do his job as commander. Thus, the reduction to 45 has hampered police functions in Precinct 4.

Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. on the fourth Thursday, March 22, 2007.