Reported crime in the city of Pine Bluff was down for the sixth straight month, according to statistics prepared by the police department but that didn’t stop several members of the Pine Bluff City Council from questioning the numbers.
According to the report, there were 512 reported crimes in June, compared to 558 for June 2011, a decrease of 8.24 percent. So far this year, the department report showed that total crime is down 9.9 percent, compared to the same period in 2011.
“I have a lot of people really questioning the statistics about crime going down,” Alderman Wayne Easterly said during a meeting of the council’s Public Safety Committee Monday. “What do you say to people? They’re out there on the streets and they’re seeing what they believe is an increase in crime, not a decrease in crime. They firmly believe that the numbers are messed with, that they are somehow or another adjusted. What do you say to these people?”
Police spokesman Captain Greg Shapiro said the figures are accurate.
“Their beliefs are incorrect,” Shapiro said. “There is no question on these numbers. The perception of crime and the frequency of incidents in the media and the — it leads someone to believe that there is more crime, but statistically speaking, I’m telling you — this time last year we had handled 28,449 incidents and right now today that’s down compared to last year — 27,807 incidents.”
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Alderman Irene Holcomb said “It’s relative to them.”
“If they have been violated, if somebody robs you, it’s hard for you to believe that crime is down,”
Deputy Chief Ivan Whitfield said that it is true that some types of crime are up, while some types of crime are down, so that may be part of it.
Specifically, the report showed that burglaries last month dropped to 104, compared to 138 in June 2011. There were six fewer motor vehicle thefts (23 compared to 29 in 2011) and 10 fewer thefts reported (184 compared to 194).
In terms of crimes against persons, the monthly report showed 49 aggravated assaults, 15 more than in June 2011. There was one reported rape or attempted rape compared to four for the same period a year ago, 17 robberies, five more than in June, 2011 and 132 simple assaults, 14 less than for the same month in 2011.
Although the report showed two murders in June, there were three, according to figures kept by The Commercial. Those three were James S. Johnson on June 9, Leroy Collins on June 12 and Tashara Banister on June 26.
Whitfield said he would be willing to have a neutral party come in and observe or evaluate how the statistics are collected and prepared if that would help reassure the public.
Holcomb said maybe the bulk of the issue is perception.
Alderman Bill Brumett said that perception is reality. He cited a recent conversation on Facebook in which people were asked if they felt the numbers were correct, and the overwhelming majority of respondents said no.
Alderman Thelma Walker said she knows people who have just stopped reporting crimes. She gave the example of someone who had their home burglarized and called the police the first time, only to have the police not take fingerprints and not make an arrest in the case. Walker said she knows people who have been burglarized again and decided not to call the police for subsequent burglaries.
Easterly agreed with Walker’s statements.
“We hear that all the time,” Easterly said.
Whitfield said it is important to encourage people to report crimes. He said that the city’s crime scene technicians do a good job with the resources and facilities available to them.
Walker disagreed, saying that the department should be able to do a better job regardless of the facilities, and that if they can’t, changes need to be made.