FORUM: Community Crime Issues | Press Register

Concern was high, but attendance was low at a community forum to address concerns about rising crime in Clarksdale.

The forum was organized by the Council of Mayor and Aldermen of Clarksdale with 15 city department heads and 16 people from the community in attendance at the Clarksdale Auditorium on Monday afternoon.

“A lot has happened in Clarksdale and this place is our home and we want to protect the public,” Clarksdale Mayor Chuck Espy said as he opened the meeting. “We want to make sure our top priority is public safety.”

The forum was sparked by the recent death of a 7-year-old child who was shot on a laundry mat near the crossroads just over two weeks ago and a number of city and county murders in the course of the last few months.

Espy said there won’t be many details about exactly what police and other law enforcement are doing to fight crime in Clarksdale, ‘because we don’t want to telegraph our shots to the bad guys’ .

Ward 1 Commissioner Bo Plunk said he hoped the auditorium would be full and was disappointed with the turnout.

“We know what’s going on,” Plunk said. “Not Facebook where you can hear 100 different things.”

Plunk said commissioners receive a report each morning from the police department about the type of crimes committed in the past 24 hours.

Plunk urged people to call the police if they see anything suspicious. He also stressed that the job of the mayor’s council and commissioner in fighting crime is to support the police and let them do their job. He urged the public to do the same.

Police Chief Robbie Linley said the council had been supportive of him since he was named chief in June. Without going into specifics, Linley said that one of the first things he did when he became chief was to call law enforcement at the regional, state and federal levels to build relationships between these agencies and the Clarksdale Police Department.

He said these contacts have been helpful over the past few months.

Linley also praised his own officers.

“On the day (October 11) we had two homicides and a drive-by shooting in less than 4 1/2 hours, we immediately called all sworn officers and they all responded immediately,” Linley said. “We removed between 15 and 20 firearms from the street that night as we began our investigation and quickly identified a suspect. I would like to say that our investigators then worked tirelessly until we made two more arrests on October 19th.

Linley said the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Mississippi Highway Patrol and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) assisted in the investigation. investigation and that the U.S. Marshal’s office helped locate those arrested later.

“But I need your eyes and ears,” Linley said. “I ask all law-abiding citizens to take back (Clarksdale). Let’s take it back together.

Corporal Milton Williams of the Mississippi Highway Patrol said they are ready to help Clarksdale and any citizen driving on a state highway.

“I will say if you have a kid and they’re not home at 8-9 on a school night, you need to find them,” Williams said. “Children without guidance use the excuse that their mother or father was not there.”

Lynn Logan of Clarksdale Municipal Court said the mayor’s second chance program is working and requires perpetrators of non-violent crimes to write reading reports and improve their grades or get their GED instead. than paying a ticket.

Logan said there are people who haven’t been able to get a driver’s license for 40 years and judges are working them to clear their records so they can get a job that requires a driver’s license and re-register their name on the electoral lists.

Jerome Williams, night manager of Circle K on State Street, said he saw a side of Clarksdale that ordinary citizens don’t see.

“There’s a definite problem with speeding on the freeway and people doing donuts at the intersection,” Williams said. “We also have mentally ill and drug addicts who come into our store and disturb our customers.”

The busy Clarksdale intersection is under Sky Cop surveillance. The second chance program used to pay people to leave Clarksdale.

Williams said he had his car shot, vandalism in the store and two gunshots in the parking lot.

“I think we got sidetracked,” Williams said. “You say you want it back, I say stop giving it away.”

Patricia Gilbert said the kids needed something to do in Clarksdale and suggested an ice rink or bowling alley.

Espy said a small group of people stopped a development in Clarksdale that was looking to bring a wading pool, grocery store and hotel to Clarksdale.

Clara Simms said she knew there was a mental health issue and wanted to help people. She also pointed to speeding in her neighborhood and her fears of a car hitting her grandchildren. She said she doesn’t walk around her neighborhood at night.

Mary Eunice Cole said a lot happened on her street and it wasn’t like this just a few years ago.

“I think you need to recruit more people into the police force to help Robbie, the better off we’ll be,” Cole said.

Espy said the city is trying to hire quality police officers and there is a national shortage of police officers. Espy said rising crime is also a national concern not exclusive to Clarksdale.

Raymond Cole said he was taught not to steal by his mother who whipped him for theft from an early age.

“I had my house shot, there’s a drug store down our street that everyone knows about,” Cole said. “It’s not safe for kids to go out and I know of at least three gangs who have ‘marked’ our neighborhood.”

Cole also said it was not a racial issue but a community issue. He said he too was unhappy with the community’s involvement. The audience consisted of 10 whites and 6 blacks.

“We have good people who convinced the feds to step in and arrest him first,” Cole said. “This town is polluted and we need them to come and help us clean it up.”

Cole said the commissioner and mayor made a lot of money, and they needed to examine their motivations for being city officials and get to work to make Clarksdale better.

A need to clean up dilapidated houses was also expressed at Monday’s meeting.

Clarksdale had a similar problem with a high murder rate several years ago and led churches, civic clubs and community figures to come together to reduce the homicide rate.