ON THE STREET: Chief orders more patrosl.

With the homicide rate on the rise to near record levels, the Little Rock Police Department announced this afternoon an increase in patrols.

The release:

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Due to continued increases in violent crime throughout the city, Chief Buckner has initiated a plan to increase patrols during peak times. The increased patrols will take effect on Friday, August 18 and will go until further notice. The highlights of the plan are listed below:

 15 additional officers per Division will be mandated to work during peak times seven days a week. This will result in 45 additional officers per day.

 The additional officers will be assigned in areas identified through intelligence led policing data.

 All officers working will be instructed to provide high visibility, constructive contact, and address crimes committed in their presence.

 The Field Services Bureau Commander will meet daily with Patrol Commanders to make necessary adjustments.

 We have requested additional support from the Arkansas State Police to provide high visibility in the major thoroughfares within the city. 

Many questions, but they’ll have to wait because, as I’ve told you, the person hired to manage police communications won’t respond to my e-mails and because he won’t comply with state law on FOI requests.

Questions: The department is short some 60 officers (more than 70 counting non-uniform positions). What will this do to other services? Does it mean overtime? What will this do to police budget? Where will the city get the money?

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Will the police continue their stepped up enforcement on homeless people lining up on sidewalks to get an evening meal?

Will some of the non-responsive communications people be put back on the street?

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Why was there no “constructive contact” previously?

What are peak times?

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What are targeted neighborhoods?

Where are the patrols? You don’t need much data to know that the central city — 12th and Roosevelt corridors and the university district — are prime areas of need.

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Will the orders cover the dozens of white officers who don’t live in Little Rock and get to drive city cars home for free commutes of as much as an hour or more each way, under the theory they are on call for emergencies?

If you detect I’m sore about city and police responses you detect correctly.  If there wasn’t a mayor’s race this year, do you think we’d be getting jargon-filled news releases like this?

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