Gee, Here's a Novel Idea

I know, what if we were to go after the repeat offenders? Do you think that would make our crime rate go down? Duh! It seems the problems in Baltimore were so bad, they finally decided to concentrate on the repeaters and guess what, it has had an immediate impact.

If you think it's bad in Memphis, it's twice as bad in Baltimore - for murders. Baltimore has a population of around 630,000 and Memphis is 645,978 according to the US Census data, but Baltimore has had 280 homicides this year compared to Memphis' 160 (29 of which were not murders, but justifiable homicides). Can you say, "desperate times, call for desperate measures?"

Here's a clip from today's CA on the subject:

Earlier this year, Baltimore was headed for its bloodiest year in nearly a decade. But the bloodletting eased up after a new police commissioner took office.

The bloodshed in Baltimore is blamed on entrenched poverty, widespread drug addiction, failing schools and easy access to guns.

Through Dec. 26, there were 280 homicides in Baltimore -- four more than in all of 2006. Things looked even grimmer in mid-July, the day Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm resigned. At that point, Baltimore had 178 homicides, putting it on pace for a total of 325. The city has not topped 300 since 1999.

The new police commissioner, Frederick Bealefeld III, and Mayor Sheila Dixon have gone after repeat violent offenders more aggressively, flooded high-crime zones with officers, and revived a unit that traces illegal guns. Also, repeat gun offenders are being sent more frequently to the federal court system, where they face stiffer sentences.

In Memphis, Blue Crush is doing a lot of that, and we are ramping up to deal with the constant repeat offenders over the next year. I guess it would only be fair to give the thugs fair warning - we will be watching you! Now, if we can just get the legislature to pass some better legislation to deal with these terrorists!

I encourage anyone and everyone to send an email to your legislators requesting this legislation. As a matter of fact, I've created a web page that will let you do just that, with just a few clicks.

He's Doing it Again!

click to enlarge



Source - Shelby County Registrar's website

It seems a leopard cannot change his spots. Our local shurf, Mark (not a cop) Luttrell, is taking gratuities again. The Memphis Daily News reported that he took some free tickets that were offered by the University of Memphis and didn't return them. All the county commissioners returned the tickets they were given, but Mark didn't see the need to. That might be because Mark thinks the ethics rules of the county and the policies of the Sheriff's office that outlaw such conduct, are really just "suggestions", unless they are applied to deputies.

Mark took a free dinner cruise last year while in Chicago, and he didn't report it, nor did he pay for it himself. The cruise was paid for by Aramark, the company who just happens to be a vendor for the county and the Sheriff's office - to the tune of several million dollars.

While I was employed by the Sheriff's Office, it was made clear that you could not accept freebies from anyone. And, you couldn't take discounted stuff, UNLESS THE DISCOUNT WAS OFFERED TO EVERY OTHER DEPUTY SHERIFF. We routinely get discounts on food from different businesses, but that is an across the board discount to any cop. We get 10% from AutoZone, Dillards, and other companies, but once again, it's to all deputies and police officers. Now, I don't remember the U of M offering me free tickets, but if they had, I couldn't have accepted them, because we couldn't accept anything that was FREE.

Can anyone out there support his taking the free gifts? The rest of the county commission felt it was against the latest "ethics" policy, or else they would have kept the tickets too. It seems Mark has decided the rules just NEVER apply to him. Mark, that's a slippery slope. Pretty soon you'll be taking contributions from convicted drug dealers, oh wait, you've already done that. Oh well.

I'm still waiting on Mark's apology for taking money from the convicted cocaine dealers and other criminals, while punishing deputies for visiting a guy in prison. And I haven't heard anything more from Brian Kuhn, county attorney, regarding Mark's cruise. Now, I will be sending another email to Brian Kuhn on this clear ethics violation. Maybe Mark can be sanctioned by the county commission? Or do we have to find a coroner (whoever that might be) and have Mark arrested?

Mark, do the right thing - for once - and pay the money you would have had to pay for the tickets to a local charity. Give it to St Jude, The Union Mission, etc. AND don't accept anything else. You already make plenty of money, plus you drive our car, burn our gas and have our credit card.

If you are reading this and you find yourself asking what the ..... was he thinking, why not email him at mark.luttrell@shelby-sheriff.org and let him know - he is wrong!

Gangster and Murder Suspect Sought - and Caught

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE
McArthur Bobo, 27 wanted in connection with the December 23rd murder of Michael Gibbs, which occurred at 42 N. Claybrook. HAS BEEN ARRESTED BY UNION STATION OFFICERS.
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Kudos to the officers of Union Station! Another job well done!

The Memphis Police Department is looking for this suspect, McArthur Bobo, in regards to a murder that occurred in the downtown area a week ago. He has been identified as a member of the Crips, a local social group who specialize in terrorizing communities. If you encounter him, call the police, he is a bad boy who carries a gun and uses it. He has been arrested over 30 times for everything from burglary, to selling drugs, to assault, witness intimidation, arson, possession of an unlawful weapon, etc! Here's a link to the BOLO on McArthur Bobo

Thug Thursday - 12/27/2007

Click any of the images to Enlarge

The song goes, "I'll be home for Christmas..." and so it was for this week's "thug of the week" when he was arrested on Christmas Day and got to come back "home" for the 161st time. Freddie Warr RNI# 15061. Freddie is another 1 man terror team who has primarily stayed in the area of South Parkway and Kyle, and also near the CJC downtown, according to where he has been arrested. You see, Freddie, like many thugs tends to cause problems for those within a 1.5 mile radius of where he stays.

Here's an image of a map which plots his arrests:


Freddie is in jail today on a felony vandalism charge, plus violating a protective order and public intoxication. I hope the local legislators are looking at this blog and listening to Mike Fleming's show, because these "thugs" demonstrate why we need a sentencing matrix. How long must the people who live in this community put up with these criminals who refuse to contribute to society?

Here's the list of carnage caused by Freddie - by charge type:

How Many?

Murder is the unlawful killing of a human person with malice aforethought. Murder is generally distinguished from other forms of homicide by the elements of malice aforethought and the lack of lawful justification. All jurisdictions, ancient and modern, consider it a most serious crime. Most jurisdictions impose a severe penalty for its commission. (source wikipedia)

From time to time, I look at what people are searching for when they hit my blog. Usually, they want to find out where the dangerous areas of Memphis are, or they are inquiring about gangs, or they may want to know how many murders we've had. I started looking at those numbers and found out something I thought was interesting. It has been widely reported that we've had 160 Murders in 2007, but after looking at the data, I find that simply isn't true. We've had 132 Murder/Manslaughters and the others have been coded as "Justifiable Homicide". I think this is a gross injustice to say we've had 160 murders when roughly 18% of those were cases that involved someone taking a lawful action, that resulted in a death. It's an unfortunate thing, to have to take someone else's life, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

So, let's start reporting the offenses as they are. We need to be breaking the Justifiable Homicides out of the total picture, because they are not Murder.
Here's the breakdown:
130 Murders/Non Negligent Manslaughter
002 Manslaughter by Negligence
028 Justifiable Homicides

160 Total

Here's a look at where the 132 Murders/Manslaughters have occured this year:

MPD - Working in the War Zone

Lately, there has been a lot of news about the MPD working in the "war zones", particularly after a young man was shot. Many people who don't live in an area like this don't really understand how crime permeates the entire area. I've worked this particular area many times and it seemed every house in the neighborhood was occupied by drug dealers or gang bangers. If you take a quick look at the reported crimes within a .5 mile radius of Alaska and Henry, you will see 69 crimes. Those crimes include murder, robbery, rape, burglary, assault, drug offenses, etc. This is not an anomaly, it is the usual for this particular area of Memphis. I feel for the people who are forced to live in this area, because the gangsters, drug dealers and basic criminals make life extremely hard on them. I'm posting a prototype of what we will be exposing for the public within the next few months, so you can get a good idea of what I'm talking about. This is just the reported crimes. I'll follow it up with the sex offenders and warrants, as well.

The Memphis Police Department has been involved in a constant battle in this area of town, and you can throw several Sheriff's Officers in the middle of that fight too. I think we probably entered every house in the area while I was working with the SCSO's Fugitive Squad.

As you view this map, keep in mind that the addresses have been rounded to the nearest 100 block, so you aren't seeing the exact addresses of the reported crimes.

UPDATE - WARRANTS (50 Most Recent)

Thug of the Week 12-20-2007

This week's "Thug" is Kenneth Edwards rni # 90057 dob: 3-10-1959 Age: 48. He has been booked into the Shelby County Jail over 130 times. Like his predecessors, most of his charges are simple misdemeanors, and yes, he has a bunch of more serious cases.

He has been busted on 21 different occasions for Theft of Property, 7 Criminal Trespasses, 2 assaults, 2 unlawful possession of a weapon, 1 aggravated arson, 1 aggravated burglary, carrying a weapon on school property, felony vandalism, and a slew of other charges.

Kenneth was averaging 4 arrests per year, until 2004 when he was arrested 12 times. The following years he was arrested - 12,10 and 9 times respectively. He still has time to get arrested a few more times this year, if he doesn't procrastinate.

Here is a look at those charges:

CLICK TO ENLARGE


As a part of my day job at the MPD, I try to come up with better ways of addressing the crime problem. One thing we have started looking at is patterns of criminal behavior. So far, it appears that most criminals commit their crimes within a radius of about 1 - 1.5 miles from where they live. With that in mind, here is a graphical look at Kenneth Edwards's arrests. As a part of the Real Time Crime Center, we will be constantly hammering the data to look for trends, patterns, and behaviors. Developing this data will help us both solve and predict crimes. Here's Kenneth Edwards' arrest map - I think you'll see this supports my theory :

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Why Consolidate?

Personally, I am not for consolidation. I don't want my taxes to go any higher than they already are. However, at some point, there won't be much left that isn't incorporated into one of the cities of Shelby County and the SCSO will cease to patrol. I guess at that point, the shurf will be relegated to the courts and jail, leaving only fugitive to do anything resembling law enforcement. Then there will be a need for unified law enforcement. If and when that happens, the MPD will have to be the agency that handles it. A 300 man department can't consume one that has 2200.

I think commissioner, Mike Carpenter, has a good understanding of the problem with having a politician running the law enforcement agency. In one of the study group meetings, he said the following:

"But Carpenter said an elected law enforcement head is not without problems, as he emphasized he wasn't talking about Luttrell.

"I don't want to be at the mercy of an unqualified law enforcement officer who can play political games - who can go out and raise money - who can glad-hand folks," Carpenter said. "He can put together enough votes in a crowded field to get the job. Sure, there's some minimal qualifications ... but it doesn't mean you can actually do the job. And we're stuck for four years."

Mike may have emphasized he wasn't talking about Luttrell, but guess what, he was talking about Luttrell. The above scenario describes Mark to a tee, with the exception that the taxpayers will wind up suffering for eight years before he moves on. Mark Luttrell is a jailer, not a cop, and as such, he has no basis of understanding. This leads to him making stupid remarks like:

1. "what authority do we have to make arrests in Bartlett?" (compstats meeting 2004)
2. "We can't arrest our way out of crime" (television news report 2005)
3. "We don't have a big drug or gang problem in county schools" (news story 2005)
4. "Tasers are deadly weapons" (2007 WMC news story)

If the news media would stop legitimizing him as a law enforcement officer (he ain't), he would stop being a public embarrassment. I guess he would only be a private embarrassment then.

Luttrell raises money from convicts, then says he makes no apology for it, but stops taking "reported" contributions from convicts. He also uses his position to abuse and intimidate officers like the following few examples, which are just a few of many:

1. Inspector Judy Hughes was transferred from Fugitive to the report center after filing a county EEOC "hostile work environment" complaint. She supervised 8 clerks, with no captain, no lieutenants, no sergeants and no patrolmen under her authority. She is now retired.
2. Next up was Captain Bobby Simmons. He took Judy's place, and then the report center's clerks were reassigned, when the operation went paperless. Captain Simmons reported to work for about a year, with no-one to supervise. He had an office with a desk and chair, oh yeah and a phone.
3. There was this lieutenant who was transferred to the midnight shift of the Fugitive Bureau because he had said he was going to run for Sheriff.(yeah that would be me)

There are many other examples that could be cited, but that's an exercise in futility, because nobody seems to care. As for the intimidation factor, these things didn't intimidate me, but it certainly had a chilling effect on the other officers. Fortunately, I had enough time on the job that I could retire and get away from the asylum.

If you are one of those people who thinks Luttrell is so great, you might want to read about the federal lawsuit the deputies filed against him after he refused to negotiate with the Deputy Sheriff's Association. Additionally, the top three officers of the DSA have had time off (with pay) to conduct union business since the late '70s. Not anymore. Luttrell sent them all back to their bid positions - another intimidation move. He is refusing to negotiate with the deputies, because they decided they needed to be aligned with the teamsters. Since when can the Sheriff dictate who the officers can be affiliated with? I hope the deputies prevail in their lawsuit, and maybe even get awarded punitive, personal damages. We don't need a dictator at the SCSO.

As for me, I would rather keep things the way they are, except I think the shurf needs to deal with his area of expertise (jails) and leave the policing to those who know whereof they speak.

It's Thug of the Week - or - When does 156 Equal 252

She was just hangin with the boys, in a vacant building, in the 1300 block of Jefferson, when the "po po" showed up to take her back to jail. I'm sure it seems like yesterday to Carolyn, that first trip to jail in 1986, that is. Carolyn, or Sheila, or Sharon, or Debra, or Jane Doe, or Chocolate, or even Sweet Chocolate, whichever alias you use, has lived a notorious life of crime. This is her 156th time to be booked which is an amazing feat, considering she is only 44 years old.

Carolyn, like many of these "thugs", has primarily been charged with minor misdemeanors. But, her rap sheet lists major felonies, like the five robberies, 10 charges of selling cocaine, numerous thefts and on and on.... She has been charged with a total of 252 different violations. Her latest charge is criminal trespass, which carries a 100.00 bond that she apparently can't make. Not a major crime, is it? That may be true, and if it were her first, or even 10th offense, I might not be so ready to say throw the key away. The problem is she is just another example of an antisocial person who will always be a criminal until that last gasp. Once again, this is a perfect example that cries out for a sentencing matrix. At what point is enough, enough?

Here's her mugshot and rap sheet :

Local Media Can Help

If we are to get any changes enacted through the legislature, we are going to need all the help we can get. One thing that would really help is if every time local media reports on these thugs being arrested, they would tell us how many times, and for what offenses they have been arrested. It doesn't take that long to hit the JSSI website and count it up, though it would be nice if the clerk's website gave you that information for each individual.

A quick look at the two people who were arrested in the sex sting at Overton Park showed that Eddie McGhee has been booked into the county jail 31 times, and Eric Martin - 22 times. If the news outlets start talking about how many times each offender has been arrested, it will draw attention to this problem, and maybe our local legislators will start trying to deal with this issue.

MPD Issuing BOLOs via the web

We've started folding our Notifications(BOLO - Be On the LookOut) into the CyberWatch Reports and at some point, will have a webpage that lets you view the list of bolos. Here's an example of one of the announcements, which alerts the public to the theft of a bunch of Flat Panel LCD televisions. This doesn't mean you should go try to find one at a deep discount!

CyberWatch is Working

We've been getting a lot of web tips from our CyberWatch program at the Memphis Police Department. The Organized Crime Unit has made numerous arrests because our good citizens have stepped up to the plate. I wrote the system so that any complaints that are relative to drugs, gangs, gambling or prostitution are automatically routed to the CAT teams in OCU. Other complaints are sent to CrimeStoppers where they are routed to the appropriate area.

I commend those who have participated in the CyberWatch program and sent in this information. This is one way we can make Memphis a better place to live. People have to step up and be the eyes and ears for law enforcement.

Here's an example of one of the tips that we received earlier in the month and another link to today's story on the results:

DATETIME=11/18/2007 09:31:28 AM
TYPE=Suspicious
TIME=Witnessed
LOCATION=Forest Area of Overton Park
CITY=Memphis
STATE=TN
COMPLAINT=As a regular runner in Overton Park on the weekends, I have witnessed suspicious activity in the wooded areas of Overtown Park. Specifically, the trail area where are cars are not allowed, I have witnessed suspicious men meeting in the woods, for I suspect is drug and/or sex related. This is very disturbing I am now looking for other places to exercise. I suggest you have regular patrols on foot or mountain bike back in the areas of this park where the squad cars cannot patrol. Let's get these "sickos" out of the park. Thank you.

And here's today's story from ABC24's website:

Memphis Police arrested several men on prostitution and indecent exposure charges at Overton Park Thursday, November 29.

Investigators say they received several complaints from citizens about male prostitutes in the park. They say the complaints ranged from sexual favors being solicited to public indecency. Investigators say plainclothes detectives staked out the area and arrested eight men during a two-day sting, which began earlier this week.

Eric Martin, 39, was charged with prostitution and indecent exposure and Eddie McGhee, 38, was charged with prostitution.

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A check of court records shows Eddie McGhee has been booked into the county jail 31 times, and Eric Martin - 22 times. Their charges run them gambit

It's Called the "Use of Force Continuum"

You know, in order to be a law enforcement officer, in the state of Tennessee, you have to go through rigorous training, take written tests, pass firearms proficiency tests, not consort with convicted drug dealers, bank defrauders, or other convicted felons - unless you are elected to the office of Sheriff. There is no requirement for a Sheriff to have any experience in law enforcement. He or she could have been a college student, a cook, or even a warden. But, as soon as one is elected, the media starts asking them law enforcement related questions - as if they had risen through the ranks, and had a wealth of experience to draw upon. I'm afraid we have such a "leader" in our Shurf. He has never been a law enforcement officer, but he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express one time, while on a vendor junket. Here is his latest demonstration of law enforcement acuity:

From the channel 5 website

In fact, it is legal to carry a Taser in more than 40 states, include the Mid-South's tri-state area. But are they safe? Shelby County Sheriff Mark Luttrell told us they can be deadly.

" A Taser can be a lethal weapon," he said.

According to Luttrell, if you get a Taser, you're taking a huge risk legally. It may protect you on the street, but could hurt you in court.

" The reality of it is, it does have the potential of being lethal," he said. "And when you start getting into that potential, there are a lot of liability questions that come up."

It only takes a quick search online to find dozens of lawsuits surrounding the weapon and its use.

=============================================================
Retired Lieutenant John Harvey says -
There are also many lawsuits against police and sheriff's departments over people being hit with nightsticks, batons, flashlights, being handcuffed too tightly, etc.

I can kill you with a pencil, but that doesn't mean it's considered a "lethal" weapon. None of these are considered LETHAL force.

Considering all this talk about consolidating the MPD and the SCSO, I shudder to think the shurf might be in control of both.

To shurf Luttrell - there is this thing called the "use of force continuum." It is the rule for police officers/deputies/etc (not that you would know that). Basically, it says the officer is to take action against a combatant that is one level above the level of force being used against the officer. I recommend you let your officers do the law enforcement interviews, and you can talk about building that 300 million dollar jail you want so badly. (Wait until just before the next election cycle to do that though)

Here is an example of a force continuum which models many in use around the country (pay particular attention to where the word TASER falls in this list). There is no "standard" for the use of force continuum, but I've never seen one that considers a Taser to be lethal. Furthermore, I think the sheriff might find himself in a vigorous debate over his classification of Taser with the company's representatives. (As a matter of fact, I'm sending the link to this blog to Taser so they can contact him and inform him of where the Taser falls in the continuum)

From this website of retired Denver Police officer (and fellow gang member)- Sgt. George Godoy

Level One

Officer Presence . The mere presence of a police officer in uniform or in a marked police unit is often enough to stop a crime in progress or prevent most situations from escalating. Without saying a word, the mere presence of a police officer can deter crime by the simple use of body language and gestures. At this level gestures should be non-threatening and professional. This "zero" level of force is always the best way to resolve any situation if possible.

Level Two

Verbal Commands . Used in combination with a visible presence, the use of the voice can usually achieve the desired results. Whether you instruct a person to, "Stop.", "Don't Move.", "Be quiet.", "Listen to me.", "Let me see your ID.", or, "You're under arrest."-- voice commands in conjunction with your mere presence will almost always resolve the situation. The content of the message is as important as your demeanor. It’s always best to start out calm but firm and non-threatening. Your choice of words and intensity can be increased as necessary, or used in short commands in more serious situations. The right combination of words in combination with officer presence can de-escalate a tense situation and prevent the need for a physical altercation. Training and experience improves the ability of a police officer to communicate effectively with everyone he/she comes in contact with.

Level Three

Empty Hand Control . Certain situations will arise where words alone will not reduce the aggression. This is the time police officers will need to get involved physically. This is a level of control employed by police officers minus the aid of equipment or weapons. There are two subcategories called, “soft empty hand techniques” and “hard empty hand techniques.” Soft Empty Hand Techniques: At this level minimal force would involve the use of bare hands to guide, hold, and restrain -- applying pressure points, and take down techniques that have a minimal chance of injury. Hard Empty Hand Techniques: At this level the use of force includes kicks, punches or other striking techniques such as the brachial stun or other strikes to key motor points that have a moderate chance of injury.

Level Four

Pepper Spray, Baton, Taser. When the suspect is violent or threatening, more extreme, but non-deadly measures must be used to bring the suspect under control, or affect an arrest. Before moving to this level of force, it is assumed that less physical measures have been tried and deemed inappropriate. Pepper spray results in considerable tearing of the eyes, as well as temporary paralysis of the larynx, which causes subjects to lose their breath. Contact with the face causes a strong burning sensation. Pepper spray, once thought an effective street tool for police officers has lost popularity over the years because of its ineffectiveness, especially on intoxicated persons. The typical baton is a round stick of various lengths, and is made of hardwood, aluminum or plastic composite materials. A blow with a baton can immobilize a combative person, allowing officers to affect an arrest. Common impact weapon used by police today include the PR-24 and collapsible baton. Of all the options available at this level the Taser, in my opinion, is the most effective. The Taser discharges a high voltage spark (50,000 volts) at very low amperage. The Taser fires two small darts, connected to wires, which drops a suspect at non-contact distance. These devices are easily carried. They are lightweight and affordable. Extensive training is not required, and they may be more effective on persons under the influence of PCP and other drugs who do not respond to chemical irritants. They can be especially useful for controlling non-criminal violent behavior, such as persons who are mentally impaired, or under the influence of mind-altering substances.

Level Five

Less Lethal . This is a newer, acceptable and effective level of force that numerous police agencies have added to their use of force continuum policy and procedure. Less-lethal weapons were developed to provide law enforcement, military and corrections personnel with an alternative to lethal force. They were designed to temporarily incapacitate, confuse, delay, or restrain an adversary in a variety of situations. They have been used in riots, prison disturbances, and hostage rescues. Less-lethal weapons are valuable when: Lethal force is not appropriate. Lethal force is justified and available for backup but lesser force may subdue the aggressor. Lethal force is justified but its use could cause collateral effects, such as injury to bystanders or life-threatening damage to property and environment.

Level Six

Deadly Force . If a police peace officer has probable cause to believe that a suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others then the use of deadly force is justified. (see Tennessee v. Garner) By the very nature of the profession, peace officers may at times be confronted with a potentially lethal threat. In most of these instances, peace officers will have no other option but to discharge their firearm in order to protect their life or, the life of others.

The use of force is an integral part of a law enforcement officer's job, particularly when arresting criminal suspects. No one disputes that police should be permitted to protect themselves and others from threats to safety, but what is often disputed is an officer's assessment of a threat and the level of force selected to counter it. As a general principle, the level of force used should be tailored to the nature of the threat that prompted its use.

It's Thug of the Week

This week I have selected the thug who is currently the "most arrested" in jail. Clifton Macon RNI # 37048 has been booked into the county jail 163 times since August of 1983. He has been charged with at least 233 separate offenses. Clifton is currently in jail for AGG CRIM TRESPASS, THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS and ASSAULT-BODILY HARM. Even after 163 times, and numerous felony convictions, he has a $100.00 bond, which he can't seem to make. Clifton was last booked Oct 25 2007 at 8:46AM and is scheduled for court on 11/29. I'll be surprised if he isn't given a "time served" sentence. Clifton has been convicted of Robbery, Burglary, Forgery, theft, etc. This latest episode is just one of many - e pluribus unum (one out of many).

From looking at the arrest information, it appears Clifton has been assaulting Walgreens on a weekly basis. According to the report, he has been showing up every Thursday (hmm Thursday IS Thugday) and stealing stuff. He always makes sure to steal less than $500.00 worth though. Do you think he might know how the system operates?

After reviewing the litany of charges against Clifton Macon, I am convinced he should have his picture on the Wikipedia website under the definition of CRIMINAL. Some people are simply incorrigible. They will not do the right thing under any circumstances. For those people, I believe the state is obligated to protect society by removing them. How many strikes does a person deserve?

Hopefully, Clifton, the poster-boy for criminals, will help stoke the fires under the legislative process. He is certainly providing us with an example of a person who needs to be put away for the rest of his life. He has demonstrated his inability or unwillingness to "play well with others." A sentencing matrix would have gotten Mr Macon's attention long ago. You see, he is smart enough to know he needs to fly under the felony radar, but the system isn't smart enough to detect him and deter him from his actions - yet. I urge everyone to contact their legislators regarding implementation of a sentencing matrix. Here is a link to a webpage that will let you send an email to the entire Shelby Delegation at one time. Please use it.

Here are his charges and some interesting charts, oh yeah, and his mugshot.
Click any image to enlarge

Free Mugshots for Shelby County

We've been collecting mugshots from the web since August of last year. Some of the photos aren't real good quality, and some of that is my fault. I was embedding the inmate's name and rni number in the reserved area of the jpeg files, and the SCSO went to a different format yada yada yada. Oh well, the site is now up and running and totally free for use. You just enter the first and last name and type the name that is displayed on the icon next to the last text input box, then click submit.

Personally, I think the Sheriff's Office should make these photos available after a person is released, but they don't. When I worked for the SCSO, I tried to make that available to the public, but they didn't see it my way. Maybe since I'm archiving the photos and making them available, they'll have a change of heart. There are other things they could do that would help enable public access, like allowing you to pull a rap sheet on each person. I know they have the code for that, because I gave it to some of their techies and they use it now to display the charge and booking information.

I'll keep this site up and make it freely available for public access so long as people don't try to use this as a free site to run their business. If I detect someone hammering the site, I'll deny those ip addresses access and probably redirect their traffic to google or somewhere.

Anyway here is the link and it's also on the panel on the right.

Thug of the Week - A Blast From the Past or Welcome Back!

Looking through the jail website, I came across an old acquaintance - Robert Adams. As I recall Robert was a resident of the 4th floor of the old county jail when I was hired by the SCSO in 1975. I think he was charged with Robbery, but I can't verify that because those records are not on computer. The current data only goes back to about 1982. Robert was one of the first to get an RNI number, which is why his number is so low - 654. Today the system is issuing RNI numbers which range above 376,600. I think Robert went to prison for a while after I first met him, but he was back before too long and though we've both been involved with law enforcement, we never had another encounter.

It seems that Robert has been pretty busy since we last met. I hear John Sebastian playing in the back of my mind . . .
Welcome back, Your dreams were your ticket out.
Welcome back, To that same old place that you laughed about.

Well the names have all changed since you hung around,
But those dreams have remained and they're turned around.

Who'd have thought they'd lead ya (Who'd have thought they'd lead ya) Here where we need ya (Here where we need ya). Yeah we tease him a lot cause we've got him on the spot, welcome back, Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.


Here are the booking numbers and dates of his 72 latest bookings - from the most recent to oldest:

7141510 11/20/2007
7138901 10/29/2007
7133062 9/13/2007
7117051 5/15/2007
7106309 2/23/2007
6129071 9/21/2006
6117740 6/11/2006
6105389 2/21/2006
5137820 12/15/2005
5125958 8/19/2005
5113569 5/2/2005
5112464 4/22/2005
5102870 1/27/2005
4133235 10/25/2004
4132718 10/20/2004
4124807 8/10/2004
4123859 8/2/2004
3123010 8/6/2003
3111992 4/25/2003
2139562 12/14/2002
156013 11/29/2000
155682 11/27/2000
149564 10/12/2000
118750 4/10/2000
102556 1/14/2000
99163656 12/3/1999
99156087 10/22/1999
99154088 10/12/1999
99149216 9/16/1999
99145342 8/28/1999
99129765 6/9/1999
99116503 3/30/1999
99108369 2/14/1999
99105780 2/1/1999
98048353 9/23/1998
98005080 1/29/1998
97055035 10/29/1997
95312105 11/8/1995
94211087 7/30/1994
94048123 2/21/1994
93207095 7/26/1993
92358049 12/23/1992
92190085 7/8/1992
92106055 4/15/1992
92077154 3/17/1992
90199191 7/18/1990
90081050 3/22/1990
90045173 2/14/1990
89325004 11/21/1989
89262082 9/19/1989
89261115 9/18/1989
89239099 8/27/1989
89186107 7/5/1989
88319156 11/14/1988
88163053 6/11/1988
88145129 5/24/1988
88134138 5/13/1988
88092124 4/1/1988
88086109 3/26/1988
88033004 2/2/1988
87313113 11/9/1987
86316106 11/12/1986
85275082 10/2/1985
84250077 9/6/1984
84191709 7/9/1984
84086007 3/26/1984
84042051 2/11/1984
82322053 11/18/1982
82271734 9/28/1982
82262044 9/19/1982
82005019 1/5/1982
81252030 9/9/1981

Then we can see the charges by court. . .

Criminal Court Charges:
Charge Indictno Bookno Indictdate
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 99 12820 98048353 11/9/1999
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 99 12819 98048353 11/9/1999
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 99 12818 98048353 11/9/1999
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 99 12817 98048353 11/9/1999
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 99 12816 99108369 11/9/1999
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 96 01711 95312105 2/15/1996
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT 96 01710 95312105 2/15/1996
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 94 08235 94048123 9/8/1994
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 92 06013 92190085 6/23/1992
ROBBERY 91 00453 90199191 1/15/1991
MANUF/DEL/SELL CONT SUBSTANCE 90 05801 90045173 5/18/1990
DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUS 90 03664 89261115 3/29/1990
DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUS 90 00168 88319156 1/9/1990
DRIVING U/INFLUENCE INTOX/DRUGS 90 00167 88319156 1/9/1990
ESCAPE FROM JAIL OR WORKHOUSE 86 04805 86316106 11/13/1986
DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUS 05 07306 5619872 10/11/2005
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 05 07305 5628853 10/11/2005
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 05 07305 5628853 10/11/2005
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 04 00143 3123010 1/8/2004
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 04 00143 3123010 1/8/2004
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 04 00142 3626160 1/8/2004
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 04 00142 3626160 1/8/2004
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 01 08435 149564 7/31/2001
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 01 08435 149564 7/31/2001
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 01 06397 149564 6/19/2001
DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUS 00 12070 99116503 10/11/2000
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 00 09489 99657608 8/17/2000
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 00 03938 99145342 4/13/2000
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS 00 01016 99129765 2/3/2000

General Sessions:
GS Charges 125 - 55 Arrests
Bookno Status Arrdate Agency Charge
7718596 SENT 10/15/2007 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE S/R/C
7718596 SENT 10/15/2007 MP DISREGARDING RED LIGHT M
7718596 SENT 10/15/2007 MP VIOLATION OF FINANCIAL LAW
7715857 BOND 8/30/2007 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
7117051 BOND 5/15/2007 MP DOMESTIC ASSAULT-BODILY HARM
7603966 SENT 1/21/2007 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE S/R/C
6656525 SENT 10/28/2006 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE S/R/C
6129071 SENT 9/22/2006 SO FAIL TO APPEAR FOR BOOKING/PROCESS
6129071 SENT 9/21/2006 MP VIOL OF SEAT BELT LAW OVER 18 YRS
6129071 SENT 9/21/2006 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE S/R/C
6129071 SENT 9/21/2006 MP OPEN CONTAINER LAW
6642506 SENT 8/7/2006 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE S/R/C
6642506 SENT 8/7/2006 MP VIOL OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION LAW M
6642506 SENT 8/7/2006 MP VIOLATION OF FINANCIAL LAW
6641737 SENT 7/30/2006 MP VIOL OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION LAW M
6641737 SENT 7/30/2006 MP VIOLATION OF FINANCIAL LAW
6641737 SENT 7/30/2006 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE S/R/C
6117740 HTS 6/11/2006 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
5655891 SENT 11/11/2005 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE S/R/C
5655891 SENT 11/11/2005 MP VIOL OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION LAW M
5655891 SENT 11/11/2005 MP DISREGARDING RED LIGHT M
5628853 HTS 6/13/2005 SO THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
5628853 HTS 6/13/2005 SO THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
5619872 HTS 4/24/2005 MP VIOL OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION LAW M
5619872 HTS 4/24/2005 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE S/R/C
5615256 SENT 3/26/2005 MP VIOLATION OF FINANCIAL LAW
5615256 SENT 3/26/2005 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE S/R/C
5615256 SENT 3/26/2005 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
5615256 SENT 3/26/2005 MP VIOL OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION LAW M
5102870 SENT 1/27/2005 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
5600927 SENT 1/7/2005 MP VIOL OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION LAW M
5600927 SENT 1/7/2005 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE S/R/C
5600927 SENT 1/7/2005 MP VIOLATION OF FINANCIAL LAW
4132718 SENT 10/20/2004 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
4123859 SENT 8/2/2004 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
4621844 SENT 4/23/2004 MP SPEEDING M
4621844 SENT 4/23/2004 MP VIOLATION OF FINANCIAL LAW
4621844 SENT 4/23/2004 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE S/R/C
4621844 SENT 4/23/2004 MP VIOL OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION LAW M
3123010 HTS 8/6/2003 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
3123010 HTS 8/6/2003 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
3626160 HTS 5/19/2003 SO THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
3626160 HTS 5/19/2003 SO THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
3111992 DISP 4/24/2003 MP DOMESTIC ASSAULT-BODILY HARM
2139562 SENT 12/14/2002 SO VIOLATION OF MIRROR LAW- TRUCKS
2139562 SENT 12/14/2002 SO VIOL OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION LAW M
2139562 SENT 12/14/2002 SO NO DRIVER LICENSE
2652486 SENT 10/18/2002 SO THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
149564 HTS 10/12/2000 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
149564 HTS 10/12/2000 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
149564 HTS 10/12/2000 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
149564 HTS 10/12/2000 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
99657608 HTS 11/26/1999 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
99156087 SENT 10/25/1999 SO FAIL TO APPEAR FOR BOOKING/PROCESS
99156087 DISP 10/22/1999 MP ASSAULT M
99156087 DISP 10/22/1999 MP PUBLIC INTOXICATION
99154088 DISP 10/12/1999 MP DISORDERLY CONDUCT
99648844 SENT 10/7/1999 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUS/REV/CAN
99648844 SENT 10/7/1999 MP VIOL OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION LAW M
99648844 SENT 10/7/1999 MP VIOL OF SEAT BELT LAW OVER 18 YRS
99149216 SENT 9/16/1999 MP RECKLESS DRIVING
99149216 SENT 9/16/1999 MP NO DRIVER LICENSE
99149216 SENT 9/16/1999 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUS/REV/CAN
99145342 HTS 8/28/1999 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
99145342 HTS 8/28/1999 MP RESISTING OFFICIAL DETENTION
99145342 SENT 8/28/1999 SO FAIL TO APPEAR FOR BOOKING/PROCESS
99632757 SENT 7/3/1999 SO DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUS/REV/CAN
99632757 SENT 7/3/1999 SO OPPOSING TRAFFIC M
99129765 HTS 6/9/1999 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
99116503 HTS 3/30/1999 MP RECKLESS DRIVING
99116503 HTS 3/30/1999 MP DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUS/REV/CAN
99108369 HTS 2/14/1999 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
99105780 SENT 1/31/1999 MP ASSAULT M
98048353 DISP 9/23/1998 SO CONTEMPT OF COURT-GENERAL LAW
98048353 SENT 9/23/1998 SO VIOLATION OF PROBATION M
98048353 HTS 9/22/1998 SO THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
98048353 HTS 9/22/1998 SO THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
98048353 HTS 9/22/1998 SO THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
98048353 HTS 9/22/1998 SO THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
98005080 RWOC 1/29/1998 MP THEFT OF PROPERTY OVER $500
97055035 SENT 10/29/1997 MP ASSAULT M
95312105 DISP 11/21/1995 SO THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
95312105 DISP 11/21/1995 SO VIOLATION OF PAROLE
94211087 SENT 7/30/1994 MP DISORDERLY CONDUCT
94211087 SENT 7/30/1994 MP CRIMINAL TRESPASS
94211087 SENT 7/30/1994 MP PUBLIC INTOXICATION
93207095 SENT 7/26/1993 SO DISORDERLY CONDUCT
93207095 SENT 7/26/1993 SO PUBLIC INTOXICATION
92358049 SENT 12/23/1992 MP NO DRIVER LICENSE
92190085 SENT 7/8/1992 MP THEFT OF MERCHANDISE $500 OR LESS
90045173 SENT 2/26/1990 SO VANDALISM $500 OR LESS
90045173 SENT 2/26/1990 SO ASSAULT M
89325004 SENT 11/20/1989 MP INDECENT EXPOSURE C
89325004 SENT 11/20/1989 MP INDECENT EXPOSURE M
89186107 SENT 7/5/1989 SO VIOLATION OF PROBATION M
89186107 SENT 7/5/1989 SO VIOLATION OF PROBATION M
88163053 SENT 6/11/1988 SO HARASSING PHONE CALL
88145129 SENT 5/24/1988 SO DRIVING U/INFLUENCE INTOX/DRUGS
88145129 SENT 5/24/1988 SO RECKLESS DRIVING
88145129 SENT 5/24/1988 SO NO DRIVER LICENSE
88145129 SENT 5/24/1988 SO REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO BAC TEST
88145129 SENT 5/24/1988 SO PUBLIC DRUNKENESS
88086109 SENT 3/26/1988 MP SHOPLIFTING M
88086109 SENT 3/26/1988 MP ASSAULT & BATTERY
88086109 SENT 3/26/1988 MP RESISTING ARREST
88033004 SENT 2/2/1988 SO DRIVING U/INFLUENCE INTOX/DRUGS
88033004 SENT 2/2/1988 SO RECKLESS DRIVING
88033004 SENT 2/2/1988 SO PUBLIC DRUNKENESS
88033004 SENT 2/2/1988 SO REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO BAC TEST
88033004 SENT 2/2/1988 SO OPPOSING TRAFFIC M
88033004 SENT 2/2/1988 SO MALICIOUS MISCHIEF
88033004 SENT 2/2/1988 SO NO DRIVER LICENSE
85275082 SENT 10/2/1985 MP FORGERY
85275082 SENT 10/2/1985 MP PETIT LARCENY
85275082 SENT 10/2/1985 MP UTTERING FORGED PAPER
85275082 SENT 10/2/1985 MP MALICIOUS MISCHIEF
85275082 SENT 10/2/1985 MP MALICIOUS MISCHIEF
84191709 SENT 7/9/1984 MP DISTURBANCE OF PEACE
84042051 SENT 2/11/1984 MP DISTURBANCE OF PEACE
84042051 SENT 2/11/1984 MP PUBLIC DRUNKENESS
82322053 SENT 11/18/1982 MP POSS OF COUNTERFEIT INSTRUMENT
82322053 SENT 11/18/1982 MP OBT MONEY/PROP BY FALSE PRETENSE
82322053 SENT 11/18/1982 MP MALICIOUS MISCHIEF
82271734 SENT 9/28/1982 MP PETIT LARCENY
82271734 SENT 9/28/1982 MP MALICIOUS MISCHIEF

City or County? Who should drive?

I have worked for both the SCSO and the MPD, so I am uniquely qualified to make an objective assessment of this issue. I have made every attempt to remove any of my personal prejudices and merely present facts in this assessment.

Last year, I retired as a lieutenant, after 32 years with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. I am now a technical consultant with the Memphis Police Department. I have many friends who work with the SCSO, and many who are employed by the MPD. Many members of my family, including my father, three uncles, three cousins and two brothers have been in law enforcement, mostly working with the MPD. After many years of observing each agency, I have to conclude that a unified enforcement effort would be best, but it should be headed by the MPD.

Here are several factors which I believe dictate that the MPD handle law enforcement for Shelby County and the Sheriff manage the jail and courts:

1. The MPD has over 2100 commissioned officers and the majority are assigned to uniformed patrol. The SCSO has just over 300 (approximately 200 work in the courts or other areas not related to patrol). That means the MPD is over 20 times larger than the SCSO in it's enforcement division.
2. The MPD has many more areas of expertise than the SCSO, where they have more than a token presence such as; the bomb squad, crime scene, aviation, DUI, horse patrol, traffic, Organized Crime, Uniformed Patrol, training, etc.
3. The SCSO has roughly 100 officers assigned to Uniformed Patrol. Each of the nine MPD precincts has that many or more.
4. The MPD’s training is much better than the SCSOs. They have a larger staff, better resources, and place a greater emphasis on specialized training.
5. The MPD will soon have the Real Time Crime Center where crime fighting will be directed – proactively.
6. Director Godwin has risen through the ranks. He understands the job, from the patrolman’s - to the Chief’s perspective. This is his area of expertise.
7. Sheriff Luttrell has done a good job with the jail. He was raised on the Penal Farm. This is his area of expertise.
8. The MPD is innovative in law enforcement, as evidenced by Blue Crush, City Watch, CyberWatch and other programs.
9. The SCSO is innovative in the jail, as evidenced by their personal supervision and other approaches that have lead to the removal of Federal Court overseers.
10. The MPD has a plan to assist crime fighting over a 75 mile radius – working with agencies in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.
11. The MPD has partnered with the University of Memphis for assistance in developing the Real Time Crime Center and obtaining grant funding.
12. The MPD already makes more warrant arrests than the SCSO and could absorb the warrant operation (about 55 officers) by folding warrant service into uniformed patrol. This would give 24/7 coverage in each ward (currently - 60 wards), where the SCSO only puts four or five cars, per shift, on the street for the entire county.
13. The MPD could use the 55 fugitive officers in the Blue Crush initiative which would result in a better use of resources.
14. The MPD has one purpose – fighting crime. The SCSO has multiple responsibilities (jail, courts, law enforcement), fewer resources and a rapidly diminishing area of enforcement responsibility – they will soon lose Bridgewater and more area in southeast Shelby County to annexation.
15. Most areas across the country that have consolidated law enforcement have gone with the metropolitan police, not the Sheriff.
16. There is no requirement that a Sheriff be experienced in the “art of law enforcement”; which leads one to ask, “do we want someone leading our crime fighting effort who has no experience in that area?”
17. The argument that the Sheriff is more responsive to the public than a Police Director is specious. Either way, there is an elected official who is ultimately responsible for the effort.

I’m not convinced it will be much cheaper to consolidate both enforcement efforts, but I do think it will work better. It only makes sense to stratify the crime fight, and it also only makes sense that we choose an agency whose expertise is in the area of fighting crime. You wouldn’t choose a dentist to represent you in court, and we shouldn’t put a jail expert in charge of law enforcement.

It's Thug Thursday (11/15/2007) in Memphis, TN

This week, I decided to see who is in jail with the highest number of arrests. It turns out to be Clark Anderson, a m/b, rni # 11018. Here's his mugshot and some information about his 262 bookings in the county jail.

Here's a link to his rapsheet from the JSSI system which shows all the entries into the system. If you are interested in looking at the data for yourself, click this link and enter his RNI number (11018)

Do you think it would be fair to assign a dollar value of $500.00 to each arrest? Could it be that this person has cost the taxpayers that much money? Think about what goes into an arrest. There is the cost of the squad car, the officers, the jail, the jailers, the public defender, the court clerks, the medical staff, the jail clerks, the judges, the court officers, etc. Wouldn't it be great if we could get people to straighten up or leave the community? We could take the money we are pouring into fighting crime and divert it to other things.

Here's a synopsis of the crimes Mr Anderson has been booked on:
click to enlarge


Here's a breakdown of arrests by year:

Thugs - Mugs

Wouldn't it be nice if you could access a public website, free of charge, and be able to pull up mugshots of people who had been arrested in Shelby County? Well, you can do that - if they are still in jail. The Sheriff's Office owns the website for shelbycountyjail.com and the jail and the cameras,etc that are used to take mugshots. They also own the server that stores those pictures, but they don't open those up to anyone but the media. Hmmm, media - hey aren't bloggers considered media?

When I first developed the jail website, it was done to fulfil the order of a Federal Court Judge. We didn't think much about exposing the mugshots, but I think that time has come. Hopefully, the SCSO will listen to requests from voters, er I mean taxpayers, and open that data for free, public consumption. If you agree with this notion, why not send a friendly email to the SCSO requesting they give the public free access to the mugshots? You can also call them 901-545-5532 or 901-545-5686 and ask for Steve Shular. Steve is the media relations guy and I think he will understand the request better than anyone else at the SCSO. He's a good guy, and he does a great job, but I doubt that he's really given much thought to this issue. Why not give him the opportunity to help us out?

This is not a new issue for me, as I've asked that this information be made public in the past, and the request was denied. However, since the information is public, I decided about a year and a half ago, to start capturing the mugshots - programmatically. Today, I've got over 20,000 pictures on my server that I will soon make available to the public. It only makes sense to make public information available because the best government is a transparent government.

The SCSO can go one of three ways on this. They can ignore the request, deny the request or open up the data. Hopefully, they will write a simple webpage that allows searching by name, booking number and rni number. I'll give them a sample they can use as a design template when I post mine.

Keep looking for the free mugshots over the next week or so.

Close Encounter of the Illegal Alien Kind?

Mike Fleming has had an encounter with an illegal alien running into his car, and it seems Memphis Police Lt Gregory Quinn may also have had one. While sitting at a traffic light, on his MPD Police Motorcycle, he was hit by Avenamar Perez who was driving without a license. It seems Mr Perez, a 21 year old, male, hispanic decided to keep on driving. He was trailed by some of Memphis Finest (citizens - US citizens too) and ultimately arrested. He has been charged with the following:

1. LEAVE SCENE OF ACCIDENT INV INJURY
2. DISREGARDING RED LIGHT
3. MOVE UNREGISTERED VEHICLE ON H/WAY
4. NO DRIVER LICENSE

I think he has no driver's license because he is not a citizen. I'd be willing to bet he will be using a PD or an Immigration lawyer.

It's Thug Thursday!

Last week Mike Fleming and I gave you Willie Norfleet. A man who had been arrested 126 times. Well, Willie is still in jail (he goes to court tomorrow 11/8/07) [UPDATE THE CASE HAS BEEN RESET FOR 1 WEEK, WILLIE IS STILL IN JAIL ON A $100.00 BOND]. But, enough of Willie. It's time for Thug Thursday!

Today we actually have two thugs - a father and son team! Renarld Gardner,Sr and Jr. The proud father has a few arrests in his past, mainly for selling drugs or stealing and even a few traffic related charges. His protege though has outdone his father. It seems Jr started out with minor charges like disorderly conduct, simple possession, etc. But now, he is in jail on 6 counts of criminal attempted murder and 1 count of Murder I. I wonder if they are sharing a cell? Maybe they are singing - "We are Family!"

Here are the mugshots from the jail with links to their charges:
The Father's Charges:




The Son's Charges:

Are We Too Intellectual to Be Concerned About Crime?

In the words of a German Pastor

In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist; And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist; And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew; And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

I know people like to hide their heads in the sand and pretend the criminals won't come for them, but guess what, unless we do something, they will!

It boggles the mind to think that things are this out of control, but the data doesn't lie. Citizens are being terrorized by about 5% of the population. I don't worry for me, because I carry a gun or two or .... I've also been to shooting school, a bunch, and I hit what I draw down on. But my kids and my wife, and neighbors, and well, I think you get the picture.

Take a look at this graph and then take the time to email your legislators, or pick up the phone and call them. We need to stop doing what isn't working. My sentencing matrix would be a good place to start!

Over 36,000 people have been booked in the county jail between 6 and 10 times. Over 16,000 have been booked between 11 and 15 times. So that means over 50,000 people have been booked between 6 and 15 times!

A point to consider, just so you won't doubt the data analysis, is the RNI (records and identification) number. RNI numbers are those numbers that are assigned to each individual after their fingerprints have been taken and run through the AFIS system. Each number is unique and the numbers are assigned incrementally. The first number was 1 and today the numbers are up to over 376,250. That's a total greater than the population of Cincinnati, Ohio or Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Click to enlarge this image (IF YOU DARE)

The Road to Perdition

I’ve been talking about repeat offenders and their journey on the “road to perdition.” That got me to thinking about something I heard Dr. Adrian Rogers say so many times; that a person starts off doing something wrong, then meanders down that “wrong road” until they reach their destiny. He was actually quoting an old saying when he would say "sow a deed, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny." You see this “destiny” is created by the individual. People usually start their life of crime with small stuff – telling “little” lies, stealing something from someone, and then they escalate to maybe shoplifting something. If they manage to get away with the lies and thefts, things can really spin out of control, because the successes embolden the would-be criminal. Laws start to look more like “suggestions.”

If we examine most “career criminals” track records we will see my assertion validated. Let’s take a look at this week’s “Thug of the Week” and see how he got started.

Willie Norfleet’s first known encounter with the justice system (from our available resources) shows him being first arrested on 2/19/1983, for public drunkenness and disturbing the peace. (I would be willing to bet that Willie had a juvenile record, but we don’t have access to that) Well, anyone can make a mistake, so Willie sowed a deed, but maybe he would change his behavior. Willie did manage to stay out of jail for over a month, but on 3/28/1983, he was once again arrested for disturbing the peace, but this time he got an assault and battery charge. (His deeds are quickly becoming habits). Willie rocks along for a little over two years before he is arrested again, this time again for disturbing the peace on 4/8/1985 and then again on 8/27/1985. Willie has now begun to reap a character and a year later, on 6/13/1986, Willie is arrested for assault and battery and larceny from a person. One hundred, twenty-six arrests later, Willie has done time for everything from public drunk to armed robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and several other offenses. He has pretty much cemented his destiny, hasn’t he?

I wonder what intervention could have changed Willie’s road. I’d be willing to bet he didn’t come from a two parent home. Willie, most likely, was learning life’s lessons from the people he ran around with. (Note to parents – THE NUMBER ONE FACTOR in how your child will turn out is who they associate with). If you love your kids, keep them away from the buzzards. Do whatever it takes to make sure they associate with eagles! Even if you do everything right, there are still no guarantees. Kids turn into adults and they are free to follow their own destiny. Some will turn out ok, others will fall prey to the dark side. Hold your kids close!

Thug of The Week!

Mike Fleming and I have decided to highlight some of these thugs who keep coming to jail. We'll try to get at least one a week for your viewing and listening "enjoyment."

Looking at the jail website (www.shelbycountyjail.com) tonight I saw a familiar name, one Willie Norfleet. According to what I can see he's been arrested at least 126 times, but there are way more booking numbers for him. I think many of those may be warrant arrests. So far this year, he has been arrested twice in February, three times in March, three times in May,once in June, twice in July,twice in August, once in September and once in November (hey it was only the 1st of the month!) Wonder what happened in January, April and October?

Oh well, here goes our first installment of the Weekly Thug:

Click this link to see all the arrests.

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Since Mr. Norfleet is such an adept "ESCAPE ARTIST", I've decided to keep tabs on his latest case. Here's a screenshot of his court date, which is November 7th. He is to come back to court with an attorney. I think he'll be getting a public defender, but the good thing is - he is still in jail - even though he only has a $100.00 bond! I'll keep tabs on that too, because there is a "jail overcrowding committee" that meets every monday to try to get people out of jail!

11/2/2007 - still in jail
11/3/2007 - still in jail

The Top 138

Here's the list of 138 people who, have been booked into the county jail - 100 times or more. If you total all their arrests, it comes to 18,499 arrests. Think that carries a hefty fiscal note? Not only have these people terrorized our citizenry, they have been a terrible drain on our economy.

I'll be posting all the charges of the top 10 in the near future so people can see that it's not a revolving door, it's more like a proton accelerator. If you see this data, and you still aren't in favor of a sentencing matrix, you have a serious problem with your logic circuits!

Feel free to run some of these folks on the Shelby County JSSI

Click to Enlarge

Is Blue Crush Working?

One of the local TV stations asks this question "Is Blue Crush Working?" as a teaser for their news story. They interview some people who live in the "war zone", then the director and district attorney.

The answer is yes, Blue Crush is doing what it was intended to do. There have been and there continues to be a large number of criminals taken off the streets. The issue is the REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT OFFENDER. Director Godwin and Bill Gibbons both understand the issues, but the current law is not having the intended effect. The current law allows the repeaters to continue to repeat, and repeat, and repeat. Until there is a major restructuring of the sentencing guidelines, we will continue to be plagued with a crime problem.

The ONLY way change will come about is if people get motivated and start pressuring the legislature to change things. As I've said for a long time, the repeaters are the ones who are causing Memphis to be a crime center. Roughly less than 1 percent of the population commits 90% of the crime. A sentencing matrix is sorely needed for several reasons.

The matrix should be used to reinforce the idea of a progressive discipline system. The criminals would learn the matrix, just like they have learned the current system. They know what they will get for most any offense. They know that most offenses are negotiated downward to a lesser sentence. The matrix would somewhat nullify that because the second offense would accumulate points that mandate an enhanced punishment. Currently, a prostitute who is convicted of prostitution the 100th time gets the same penalty as one who is a "first offender". Using a sentencing matrix would deal with this issue, so that someone who had been convicted that many times would have been a convicted felon because after (n) convictions, any additional charges could be accompanied with an escalation to Class E felony status. This way, the repeaters will learn to stop what they are doing, or move to a more criminal friendly environment.


We need citizen support on this issue. If you want to email your legislators, you can do that with just a few button clicks. Try this link.

A Letter to the Legislators and News Media

The following is the text of an email I sent to the Shelby Delegation tonight. I also copied the news media on the subject. My hope is to get some dialogue started on fixing our broken Criminal Justice System.

Here is the email:

Dear Shelby Delegation and News Media ,

I have been in law enforcement all of my adult life, 32 years with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and now as a technical consultant with the Memphis Police Department. My dad, three uncles, four cousins and two brothers were all in law enforcement, so law enforcement issues have always been front and center in my life. I’ve seen a lot during my time, having been shot at more times than I care to remember, though never returning fire. Fortunately, the criminals aren’t that good at shooting! Having said that, I think we can all agree that crime is our biggest problem in the Memphis Metro area.

I believe I am uniquely qualified to speak on this issue of crime abatement, due to my background and the successes I have experienced over the years. For more on that, click this link. My goal is not for self aggrandizement, but to try to get a dialogue started on this subject.

Hopefully, I have a suggestion that could help solve the crime problem in our community. I believe the criminal justice system is failing because it reinforces bad behavior. Our system reinforces criminal behavior, because the criminals know there is little to no punishment for their behavior. They know they can commit crimes hundreds of times, yet return to the streets to continue a life of crime – ad infinitum. In Shelby County, we have over 15,000 people who have been arrested over 10 times. How did we ever get so dysfunctional? We actually have one person who appears to have been arrested over 400 times. This is not a statistic that speaks well of our “system”, but it does speak the truth.

I can’t say enough good about the work the MPD is doing with “Blue Crush”, but until the people who are being arrested change their behavior, it will not have the desired effect. This issue isn’t about race, wealth, social status, geographic area or anything other than quality of life.

If you are interested in learning more about the “top ten”, visit my blog at www.memphiscrime.blogspot.com where I also discuss a plan to deal with the repeat, repeat, repeat offenders. I would hope your group would take this idea and run with it. I know it will not be done easily, and I’m not saying I have all the answers, but by coming together for the common good, I believe we can fix the problem. It’s easy to say “there’s no way to fix it”, but I remember Rudy and his team fixing New York and Ronald Reagan pretty much defeating the Russians through sheer strength of determination. It can be done.
Here’s an excerpt from the blog:
In order to "stop the madness", people are going to have to get mad. I have proposed that we pass a law that deals with the repeat offenders in such a way that they cease and desist their activities, or move to another state. I think if a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor 10 times, the next time they are arrested on any charge, their case should be escalated to a class E felony. You see, the problem is that we have over 15,000 people in Shelby County who have been arrested 10 times or more. Dealing with this group first, then looking at those who are continually moving through the "criminal justice system" (talk about a misnomer) has to be the strategy.

I heard a prosecutor explaining the other day that the law doesn't make allowances for how many times a person commits a crime. That's just insane.

And . . .

I think a "decision matrix" would work for "would be" criminals. If the state were to develop a matrix that allowed people to know, clearly, what the penalty is for committing crimes, I believe, we would see a reduction in crime. You see, when we talk about fighting crime, what we are really talking about is modifying behavior. This matrix would help the criminals know what is coming if they do (x) crime. We could assign a value to each crime conviction and they could redeem them at the state prison or other penal institution. Do a burglary, first offense is worth 5 points. Five points gets you probation on a first offense. Do it again and you now have 10 points, do not pass go....

Misdemeanor charges could carry points too. Prostitution might be a 3 point crime, with probation on the first offense. Second offense, 6 points, go to penal farm for 11 months, 29 days, etc.

I hope after all is said and done, more will be done than said. Feel free to post any comments to my blog. I am willing to help on this project in any capacity. We simply have to do something to make our community a better place to live and work. Choosing the status quo is not a good option.

Thank you,

John Harvey

It's Worse Than I Thought?

For the last year or so, I've been telling people how the repeat offenders have been such a problem. I enumerated the "top 10" and showed the number of arrests they have accumulated. Tonight, I revisited one of the top ten (Larry Wayne West) and noticed if I use the JSSI website, it returns about 8 pages with 24 records per page, then a part of another page. That's around 192 arrests. Next I pulled all arrests for his rni number, using an internal tool, and found to my astonishment that Larry has actually been arrested a whopping 449 times. I don't know where the descrepancy is, but I plan to try to find out. The internal tool simply did a two table join that pulled all arrests that matched the rni number. I don't know if this number includes misdemeanor citations either, so it may even be worse than the 449 number.

I have to admit, this is perplexing.... Feel free to take a look for yourself. Here's the JSSI link: http://jssi.co.shelby.tn.us/ A query of Arrest by RNI under the GS Case History and using RNI# 11417. Oh, I almost forgot, this doesn't include Criminal Court cases.

The person I thought was number 1 (Kimberly Johnson) has only been arrested 242 times according to the internal tool. It looks like she has almost been lapped by the real number 1 - Larry Wayne West.

Preaching CyberWatch

I sent a message to a friend telling him I was scheduled to "preach" CyberWatch to Temple Israel this weekend. He replied, "what part of the Bible is CyberWatch in?" My reply was, "that's easy - Ezekiel"

Ezekiel 33:6 (New International Version)

6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.

Hmmm, that's a pretty strong requirement! So, CyberWatch is required, I guess.

A Punishment Matrix

I think a "decision matrix" would work for "would be" criminals. If the state were to develop a matrix that allowed people to know, clearly, what the penalty is for committing crimes, I believe, we would see a reduction in crime. You see, when we talk about fighting crime, what we are really talking about is modifying behavior. This matrix would help the criminals know what is coming if they do (x) crime. We could assign a value to each crime conviction and they could redeem them at the state prison or other penal institution. Do a burglary, first offense is worth 5 points. Five points gets you probation on a first offense. Do it again and you now have 10 points, do not pass go....

Misdemeanor charges could carry points too. Prostitution might be a 3 point crime, with probation on the first offense. Second offense, 6 points, go to penal farm for 11 months, 29 days, etc.

At any rate, I think it's an idea that can work. We just need to get a dialogue about PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE started. Criminals will change their behavior if they believe it will get progressively painful, if they continue down "the road to perdition"! Feel free to comment on this subject.

Here is a place to start: