Thug of the Week - When are we going to "Network"?

Click the vcr play button and be prepared to scream! Think repeat offenders.

Howard Beale is a fictional character from the movie Network. He coined a phrase that, I think, needs to be said by every law abiding citizen in Shelby County. I want you to stand up, and go to the window right now . . .

Aw, he's just an old drunk. I guess I've heard that a thousand times. Why are y'all picking on him, he just likes to drink a little, and he probably has a mental condition too! Well, that may be true, but who doesn't have mental issues? The real question is this - when do we start caring about the citizens who try to do the right thing? When do we say enough is enough? This weeks thug is just ANOTHER poster-(person) for what's wrong with our "Injustice System." Bobby Evans rni# 16838 is approximately 52 years old. Over the past twenty five years, Bobby has visited our jail 106 times for the following offenses. He has been arrested numerous times on many of them, and once again we are left asking, what the heck are the judges thinking? why don't they throw the book at this guy every time he comes to jail? It's very clear that he will never be a contributing citizen, unless you take the perspective that he stimulates the economy by committing crimes. Bobby gets arrested over-and-over, yet he still gets back out to wreak havoc on the citizens of Memphis and Shelby County. Here is the list of charges for which Bobby has been arrested:
AGGRAVATED RAPE
AGGRAVATED ROBBERY
ASSAULT
ASSAULT & BATTERY
ASSAULT MISDEMEANOR
ASSAULT-BODILY HARM
ASSAULT-THREAT BODILY HARM
BURGLARY
CARRYING PISTOL/DANGEROUS WEAPON
CRIMINAL TRESPASS
DISORDERLY CONDUCT
DISTURBANCE OF PEACE
DRIVING U/INFLUENCE INTOX/DRUGS
EVADING ARREST
FAIL TO APPEAR FOR BOOKING/PROCESS
FRAUDULENT USE OF DRIVER LICENSE
INDECENT EXPOSURE
LEAVE SCENE OF ACCIDENT INV INJURY
MALICIOUS MISCHIEF
OPEN AND NOTORIOUS PUBLIC LEWDNESS
PETIT LARCENY
POSS/MFG SAWED-OFF SHOTGUN/RIFLE
PUBLIC INTOXICATION
PURCH/REC IMITATION CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
PURCHASING AN IMITATION CONTROL SUBSTANCE
RECKLESS DRIVING
REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO BAC TEST
SEL/DEL/DIST IMITATION CONTROL SUBSTANCE
SHOPLIFTING M
THEFT OF MERCHANDISE $500 OR LESS
THEFT OF PROPERTY $500 OR LESS
THEFT OF PROPERTY OVER $500
UNLAWFUL POSS CONTROL SUBSTANCE
UNLAWFUL POSS WEAPON-PUBLIC PLACE
VANDALISM $500 OR LESS
VANDALISM OVER $500
VIOLATION OF PAROLE
VIOLATION OF PROBATION M

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For Whom the "Bell" Tolls It's Thug of the Week

click to enlarge This week the "Bell" is Andrew Bell and he "rings in" with 104 visits to the Shelby County Cross-bar Hotel. Andrew has an astounding record. He will be 30 this September, which means he has only been eligible to check into the county facilities for adults for the past twelve years. During that time, he has averaged 8.666 times (note - stopped at the third decimal on purpose) Andrew must be plying his trade elsewhere now, because he hasn't been arrested since February, twice this year, but none since February. Maybe Andrew has opened his own parking garage or something close to that. I say that because the last time he was arrested, it was for leasing parking spaces at a parking lot, yep, he didn't own. However, I will say, in his defense, after telling the undercover officer that it cost $7.00 to park, he gave the officer a discount, when the officer said all he had was a five. I think the affidavit says "this here is the five dollar parking spot." So, he is certainly one who understands capitalism, he just doesn't quite get the "investment" side of it. As is the case with most of these "thugs", Andrews rap sheet runs the gambit. He has been charged with the occasional burglary, aggravated robbery,robbery,sexual assault, assault, drugs,etc., but mostly he as been charged with trespassing, public drunkeness, disordely conduct, and finally a charge of which I'm sure he is not guilty - CRIMINAL IMPERSONATION. If ever there were a criminal, he is one. He is NOT impersonating one! Arrest Affidavit For Andrew's 104th arrest he received a sentence of 2 days in jail: Oh, does that bother you? You might look at the 5 pages of charges and dispositions on him at: Andrew's RNI number (a number that is linked to his fingerprints) is 239205

Here's a link to the JSSI website to lookup Criminal records.

Thug of the Week - It was a Kodak Moment

That durn Percy Edwards. He's back. Percy was thug of the week a few months ago, when he bravely rode his wheelchair up into a Mapco and attempted to relieve them of a case of beer. I don't know if his battery ran low, or if he was having to motor by hand, but he got busted and went to jail. Percy is back in jail now, his 101st visit to jail, because he just had to have one of those little $12.00 Kodak cameras. I guess you could say, after he stuffed it underneath his leg, he had a "Kodak moment."

I checked a few of the affidavits on Percy to see what kind of stuff he has been up to and I found he apparently has an affinity for the disposable Kodak cameras. Now, I'm wondering if there's something in there he can use to get high, or is he just a camera buff? I did a google search and found a blog where someone said a kid had been caught licking the film to get high. Then I saw a bunch of comments saying there is nothing in the camera that will do that. Oh well, I guess he just likes to take pictures.

I'm wondering when a judge will take note of our weekly thugs and do something. Percy has been arrested 4 times this year (which puts him on track for a total of 8),7 times last year, 12 times the year before, and on.` It wouldn't hurt my feelings if some of you citizens started rattling cages over this.

Here's a look at some interesting screen shots involving our TOTW for your edification and enjoyment:

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Maybe Percy wanted the Kodak so he could teach the jailers how to take a picture! Notice he appears to have escaped in the profile shot! I guess someone needs to go to remedial picture taking school. Lemme see, do they have to be in front of that little X on the wall?


To see more of the jailers expert photographic capabilities, check out this previous blog on the subject

Here We Go Again lies, damn lies, and statistics.

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Mark Twain, Benjamin Disraeli and a few others have been credited with the famous utterance - "There are three types of lies - lies, damn lies, and statistics." Whoever said it, they pretty much nailed it. Another way of saying it is, "figures don't lie, liars figure." I bring this up only because of the latest crime reports regarding Memphis. Now, I'm not going to sit here and try to make the case that Memphis, TN is the safest city in the world, but. . . how about a little accuracy. There is no need to make it worse than it is.

I read the story in today's newspaper, which said Memphis is the 2nd most dangerous city in America, and I knew that number could not be correct. I knew that because I knew the crime rate had fallen last year, and I knew the numbers from last year. It turns out that Memphis (the city only) is ranked at number 8. The metro area, which includes several counties in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee is ranked second. That's a horse of a different color. You can't blame the MPD for crime in other jurisdictions. As a matter of fact, I think the rise in crime in the outlying areas, may well be the fault of the aggressive policing by the MPD. Ask almost any police chief who operates within a 50 mile radius of Memphis and they will tell you Blue Crush has sent the criminals their way.

My prediction is that Memphis will get safer as we move forward. I think the advent of such programs as Blue Crush, CyberWatch and the things we are developing at the Real Time Crime Center will force the crime rate down. I made the prediction that crime would fall when I first learned director Godwin had gone to New York to see their RTCC. Some might think otherwise, but I believe our RTCC is actually better.

CyberWatch is informing the public as to the crime near them, and it provides an easy way for the citizens to send tips in on the criminal activity near them. At the RTCC, we are "reverse engineering" arrests, particularly those of burglars. An analysis of data has shown that most burglars commit their crimes within a 1.5 mile radius of where they live. So, we are developing web-based tools that allow the officers to look for people who have been arrested for burglary, or any crime, or who are on probation/parole, or are a sex offender, or are out on bond, etc. This tool will give the officer a ready-made suspect list. This is just one example of some of the things we are doing that will result in us making more arrests.

We will also be deploying LPR (license plate reader) cameras all around the city and installed in police cars. These cameras will read the license numbers on cars and capture the location, date and time. We will cross-reference the license number with multiple databases such as, sex offenders, gangsters, warrants, stolen cars, etc. Additionally, we will be deploying gunshot detection cameras for the purpose of, well you know.... I believe officers will be making a lot more arrests and crime in Memphis will continue to go down, while the crime in surrounding areas will go up. Fugitives will be moving out of town, and that means they will be plying their trade where they live.

We will soon be offering a website where citizens and businesses can register their ip based cameras. The RTCC will be able to pull any of these cameras up a view what is happening. When a call comes in to dispatch, we will be able to check a database of cameras to see if we have any that are in close proximity. If we do, the RTCC staff will be able to channel that video and/or snapshots to the officers in the field.

Needless to say, life is good for a guy who enjoys designing systems and putting things together that help the community.