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Ted Jankowski
F L I N T O I D
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Date: September 5, 2006
Subject: What does it take?
This last city council meeting included quote a bit of excellent points and ideas. So I have to ask, What does it take?
After school or Summer basketball, football, flag football, etc. It seems many people believe this would be the “Savoir” of youth and reduce crime. So what does it take to do it? I went to one of Brenda Clacks “Violence meetings.” I was blown away at how many people where going around attempting to get support for grant monies to run after school or summer football or basket ball leagues. I don’t believe Robert Malone get’s grant money for his softball league in order to organize softball games. He does hit up local businesses for donations and support. But, from what I can tell. He organizes this on his own. Definition… Volunteer! He does it because he enjoys it. He does it because he believes in it. Not because someone gave him government funding to do it.
When I was young and going to Flint Schools, my mother was a Cub Scout leader. She never once applied for a grant to have neighborhood kids in her home and hold meetings. Sometimes other mothers helped with refreshments and sometimes supplies. But, not once did she ever receive tax dollars to have the kids in her home and help them with earning their merit badges or working on their projects. When “Police cadets” were in the schools I was one of those also. I do believe that was a grant funded program. Where is that now, and where are the Cub Scouts now?
If so many people believe summer basketball or after school football is the solution to many of Flint’s woes. Why aren’t they doing anything about it? There were almost 20 men there from “House of Prayer.” Are they volunteering (they may be) to help organize and coach and referee these games? Or do they do as they did in the last meeting. Show up, make their presentation, then leave! It’s one thing to point out and present solutions to problems that you do not have the power or authority to implement; Such as pointing out problems in the community with solutions, namely with police response. It is another, when you live in the community and can be a part of organizing after school basketball or football. I believe we miss the point as to how those that seem to be doing little, are the ones that truly do the most. Those that receive the least recognition, many times, are those that are the most deserving. They do these things, because they believe in them. Not for glory, or recognition or even payment. It is up to community leaders to and the community as a whole to recognize these individuals. Support them when they are down. Encourage them. Not, dole out tax dollars and support to those organizations that are supporters of one politician or another. I would like to suggest that the city council begin a program where you at every meeting present a city award or city council award for citizenry. Make it official who in the community is out there making a difference. It’s only a small idea. But, would have great benefits for the council as a whole.
One of the community organizations that does help young people that have lost site of the American dream. I don’t hear much about, Floyd Fielder Institute of boxing. From talking to Vincent Fielder, he tells me. They do help young people get their GED’s, they do help with programs to teach “TRADES.’ This type of activity I believe, may require grant money or even government (city) funding to help. Because, they do provide specialties in education. These organizations need people to do the training. Hand out/sign certificates. Sometimes even have to pay a staff and train them. They deserve the funding and support because they are helping young people prepare for adult life with skills that make them more appealing to potential employers. Better yet, can help them become their own business owners or contractors. As Council Members you have a unique position of leadership. When Ms. Poplar had her basketball team come in to be recognized, Mr. Gonzales asked how he could sponsor a team. It might be a good idea for council to mention at meetings a different group each week. That is out there in need of help or support or even volunteers. Your influence and good leadership can create great results. While many of you are doing some excellent work. Building on this may even show more of a united front, or even a sense of working together as a whole. Something that in the perception of many I talk to, don’t believe this Council has.
Does sports really reduce crime? Or is there another factor that may come into play? I cannot answer that. We have all heard the saying “idle hands are the devils workshop.” I believe there is some truth to that. However, these programs are activities that Flint should have, whether we have high crime or not. These activities are a given! All good communities should have such activities. Because they build a sense of community.
As promised, I am forwarding to you our suggestions that many of us online had discussed when it comes to fighting crime.
1. Civilian Volunteers for Police Department:
A. Review of reports:
i. Review Home Invasion or break ins.
ii. Check items stolen against pawn ship reports.
iii. Look for patterns.
a. Type of items stolen
b. Times of break ins
c. Address/ map the area
B. Reports to Police Chief:
i. Follow-ups
ii. Officer action
iii. Reports progress
C. Liaison to community:
i. Can under direction of Officer Keep victim informed of progress.
ii. Report to Council or a board
iii. Make suggestions
D. Liaison to Ombudsman
2.. Use of real experts.
A. Community group with experts from major cities that have lowered their own crime rates.
i. If it worked for New York. It can work here.
3. Petition Federal and State agencies for Funding for Police officers and jails.
4. COMPSTAT: Updated computer management program for better tracking:
A. “..police action can effect crime and public safety.”
B. Activist Policing.
5. Pawnshops return of stolen property.
A. The pawning of stolen property is a significant issue.
i. Pawn brokers are omnipresent offering thieves an easy way to dispose of stolen goods, especially goods with no markings.
ii. Many people who pawn have significant arrest records.
iii. There are many criminals that rely on pawn shops as outlet for stolen goods.
iv. If a small percentage of the goods pawned were stolen this number would be a huge percentage of stolen property reported.
B. It is difficult to intentionally disrupt the market for stolen goods.
i. Enforcement of pawn shop regulations is too perfunctory to interfere with receipts and disposal of stolen goods.
ii. W here the enforcement is effective it displaces the thieves to a different stolen commodity. [i.e] Precious metals, antiques, [ aluminum siding], flea markets
iii. Most stolen goods are not identifiable as such. Most households do mot mark goods or record serial numbers.
iv. The cost of recording each stolen item is too great for local government.
v. We must lower the cost of marking, recording serial numbers
vi. We cannot know what is stolen and what is not without greater police resources. [cost of police tracking stolen item lists against pawn shop records.]
A. The most effective thing we can do is monitor pawn shop records.
i. Monitor suspicious pawners and goods
ii. strengthen our pawn details
iii. speedier transfer of pawn shop records to police computers.
iv. Most police units that monitor pawn shops are under funded and under staffed.
v. Decision makers do not recognize the value of monitoring pawn shops and the pawn shops do not cooperate.
vi. Police units are usually behind on data collection.
vii. We will have immediate benefits if monitoring activities were increased.
viii. The pawn brokers actively obstruct police monitoring.
6. A departmental officer exchange program. Say sending a few officers from Flint to Amherst NY and have a few of their officers come work here? Not just Amherst, but other departments with much lower crime rates to see how they do it.
7. Flint citizens would be more than happy to help set up remote video of locations that experience regular graffiti. How about the city coughing up a few thousand dollars on some surveillance equipment that watches these areas. Then once we've got them on tape. Prosecute them. This would possibly work with aluminum siding thieves also. It takes only a few weeks to strip a house. So once it starts. The equipment could be set up and then just wait until you see it has lost more siding.
8. Police resources.
A. Police Vehicles of best quality and maintenance.
i. Impalas are much safer and cost effective over Tahoes.
B. Cameras always on in Police Vehicles.
i. Aid in arrest
ii. Aid in Conviction
iii. Can help cut down or deter frivolous lawsuits.
C. GPS Tracking in Police Vehicles
i. Safety of Officers.
ii. Exact crime mapping.
a. Essential for proactive law enforcement.
9. First response Officer be able to investigate smaller crimes if detectives are over worked.
A. possibly even create another rank or level of officer. We currently have Sergeants. But addition of another level say a corporal that can handle smaller crimes and take action, may help.
B. Be able to take finger prints.
C. Be able to talk to neighbors and do interviews.
D. Be able to follow up on leads when detectives too busy.
E. Be able to present evidence for search and arrest warrants
10. Training:
A. Flint officers don’t seem to have any pursuit training! Evidenced by the Owen F Fischer incident.
B. Leadership Training, Supervision and Leadership ranks should be sent away for intensive leadership training. (USMC Officer Training School)
C. Supervisor Training:
i. When was the last time someone taught supervisors how to read the police
contract and creative ways to enforce it?
ii. Problem solving. Has anyone ever received a class in problem solving? Creative ways to accomplish the mission?
ACTION
Question the staffing and policy of the department that monitors pawnshops. Question the budget priorities arguing for greater funding of these police units. Advocate policy that would allow Flint Citizen volunteers to assist the police in date collection. Advocate for public reporting and police accountability.
Attempt to solve all crimes, not just the ones the Flint Police feel are worth solving. Murder vs Car theft, Drugs vs Home break-ins. Treat them all as priority. If we need more detectives HIRE THEM!!
There is already a great pawnshop reporting system in use in both Lansing & Mount Pleasant. Numerous communities across Michigan are rewriting their local ordinances to compel pawnshops to report their transactions electronically. www.bwiusa.com Electronic transmittal and publication of items in pawnshops could be seen as a benefit to the pawnshop owners and citizens alike. With having this information available in a central location for a city. It could almost act as a public storefront on the web. Not only is the information available to the Police. But, citizens looking to purchaser such items would know where to go to find them. Further discussion of this personally would be necessary to show benefits.
Benefits of improved monitoring have already shown themselves through increased recovery and apprehension. Murray (1996), for example, reports that police in Atlanta, Georgia, entered only 25 percent of transaction data in 1996. A year later, after installation of a computer system with electronic data transfer from brokers, police entered 100 percent of pawn information, reduced processing time from several weeks to 24 hours and increased recovery rates from 12 to 42 items per month (Murray, 1997). In Florida, similarly, Perez (2000) reports a rise in recovery after the Broward County Sheriff established an automated pawn tracking database. The new system also helped catch 175 parole violators and 110 felons pawning firearms in 1998. By 2000, some 50 state and local agencies were using similar tracking systems, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) which initiated a project to install a statewide database in that year.
In addition to property recovery and apprehension of criminals, there is also the prospect of using transaction data to map suspicious behavior in “real” time. People pawning twenty diamond rings or watches or electric tools or city street directories or anything else of value within a relatively short period, especially if encumbered with interesting criminal histories, earn immediate suspicion of stealing or of receiving hot goods. If the items are not reported stolen or if they lack markings, then arrest is not possible. But it is possible to conduct surveillance to determine whether initial suspicions are justified, whether there are networks of accomplices warranting police attention, or whether there are other ways to identify and maybe apprehend these or other thieves.
Best Regards,
Ted Jankowski
Note. For general use in developing a data base for others to advocate public policies this outline format is a start. We should cite the primary source, I suggest we work off of internet documents when possible. We should explain how we found the source, ie google search words.
Ref: Where have all the hot goods gone .The role of pawn shops.
The markets for stolen goods pawn shop act as incentive the burglary.
See: http://jrc.saepgub.com/cgi/reprint/41/2/156.pdf
[ Found by a google scholar search key words: policed pawn shops]
Summary: Terry Bankert 12/28/05
Summary: Ted Jankowski 01/17/06
Summary: Adam Ford 03/10/06 |
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Thu Feb 07, 2008 11:49 am |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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Lots of good points. Of course we all remember Willie Clintons great crime fighting scheme "Midnight Basketball".  |
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Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:08 pm |
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Ted Jankowski
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
Benefits of improved monitoring have already shown themselves through increased recovery and apprehension. Murray (1996), for example, reports that police in Atlanta, Georgia, entered only 25 percent of transaction data in 1996. A year later, after installation of a computer system with electronic data transfer from brokers, police entered 100 percent of pawn information, reduced processing time from several weeks to 24 hours and increased recovery rates from 12 to 42 items per month (Murray, 1997). In Florida, similarly, Perez (2000) reports a rise in recovery after the Broward County Sheriff established an automated pawn tracking database. The new system also helped catch 175 parole violators and 110 felons pawning firearms in 1998. By 2000, some 50 state and local agencies were using similar tracking systems, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) which initiated a project to install a statewide database in that year.
Above the is most logical reason for having a pawn shop reporting system installed for the City of Flint. Honest dealers wouldn't have a problem. Only the dishonest! |
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Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:47 pm |
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