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:

It's Time to Re-visit the Top 10 List

Before getting to the top 10, I'm going to talk about the top 15,000....

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.

If you are interested in doing something about all this mess, here is what it will take:

1. Contact your legislators. Mainly, contact the Shelby Delegation.
2. Contact the Governor's office.
3. Get citizens groups to start an email campaign to the above.
4. Attend the hearings if you can.
5. Support law enforcement.
6. Signup for CyberWatch so you can stay informed.
7. Bookmark this blog!

FYI Top (or bottom)

THE ARREST TOTALS ARE CUMULATIVE - COUNTING ALL ARRESTS THE PERSON HAS EVER HAD AS AN ADULT IN SHELBY COUNTY

Ten list:

CyberWatch is starting to catch on

CyberWatch is starting to take hold. One of our local news stations did a story on it last night. We now have almost 750 subscribers and will soon open it up to the entire population of the metro area. Here's the link to the story: Click Here

One of the precinct commanders told me that they had noticed a 25% reduction in burglaries in an area where CyberWatch was being used. That's a pretty good endorsement.

We are also receiving about 10 online tips each day dealing mainly with drugs and gang activity, and those tips are routed, automatically, to the appropriate bureau.

Sign up for CyberWatch if you live in Shelby County by clicking here

John Harvey

Whoever Wins Mayor's Race Will Look Better Next Year

Much has been said about crime in the Memphis metro area recently, particularly how it has been dubbed the #1 most dangerous area in the country. However, a few things most people seem to overlook are; the fact that those stats refer to last year (2006), and the idea that Memphis is the number 1 most dangerous CITY. The FBI doesn't say that. They say the multi-county, tri-state area is number 1. They haven't yet published the figures on the cities, but there is another source that has ranked cities - morganquitno.com. That's the sad thing about the FBI stats. They aren't released until October each year, and by that time, the information is stale. People want to know how we are doing now. That information is available from the MPD website, and it is impressive.

Morganquitno.com isn't the FBI, but their numbers closely mirror the ones the FBI publishes. For instance, they show the Memphis metro area as second most dangerous. When ranking all cities (371 cities), Memphis ranks as the 13th most dangerous city, not number 1. That distinction goes to St. Louis, MO.

The Memphis Police Department has been doing the job under the very capable leadership of Larry Godwin. His "Blue Crush" iniative has been driving the criminals either to jail or out of the county. Hundreds of arrests have been made because of the severity of the crime problem. I have spoken of my "hot plate" approach to law enforcement, and this is what is being done with the MPD. We are making it uncomfortable for the thugs and the end result will be lower numbers this year.

Couple the Blue Crush operation with the new CyberWatch program and the Real Time Crime Center and all the other iniatives and you've got a solid plan of attack. Officers will be much more effective and efficient because of these tools and programs. The bottom line will be a major reduction in crime. That will make whoever is mayor look great next year. The missing piece of the puzzle is for the rest of the criminal justice system to get on board with our programs.

Regardless of the outcome of the election, the mayor would do well to keep director Godwin. He understands what it takes to get the job done, and his programs are working!