Monday, November 30, 2009

Kill a Cop, Get a Free Lawyer, Food, Clothing....

I was saddened yesterday when I heard four police officers were murdered in Washington state. . .

Last May, my wife and I were in the Seattle area visiting my daughter and grandkids and happened to take a ferry over to an island off the coast of Washington, just north of Seattle. We walked around a little town and stopped into a coffee shop to buy some local coffee for a friend back home. It was there I ran into four Washington State Troopers and struck up a conversation. My experience has been that all cops are the same, no matter where you encounter them. They are not supermen, just hard working people who think they can make a difference. I would be willing to bet the officers who were gunned down were cut from the same bolt of cloth. When I heard of the shooting, I immediately flashed back to those officers I met in the coffee shop.

It appears that I accurately predicted the assailant would be a "mental patient" who was "off his meds". I was able to predict that because it has happened so many times. This is not news. It is a scenario that has played out many times, sometimes involving cops, and sometimes just ordinary citizens. The fact that these people have been unleashed on the public is disturbing to the cops and the public, but not to the politicians. I once wrote a paper, in college, about how the governor should not be allowed to usurp the judicial system with pardons and/or clemency, because it flies in the face of a system that has been painstakingly crafted, over several hundred years, if not longer. In Tennessee, we even had a governor who sold pardons, at least until he went to prison. I think he just wanted to drive my point home, and he did. Now, enter Mike Huckabee. He is scurrying around now trying to place the blame on the parole board.

When do we get due process? When do we stop spending bazillions on thugs who can not or will not do right? Personally, I would be in favor of dropping these miscreants off on a remote island in the middle of the ocean. No cost, no chance of future problems, no problem.

Now, it appears we are being told the state of Tennessee is going to unleash 4,000 inmates back into the community. They say they will be non-violent, and coming to the end of their sentences. I say, if that's true, publish their names, their rap sheets and their release dates. I doubt they will do that, and I also doubt they are telling the truth. If the state wants to release some inmates, they should look at releasing the very oldest inmates. Data shows most criminals start to cease criminal activity, or at least don't get arrested as much, after they turn 40. So, that's not hard to figure. I'd rather have a 60 year old guy who killed his wife's boyfriend than a 25 year old who will come back and terrorize the hood.

Here's some more fuel for the fire. The state's own data shows that 50% of the people who are given probation and parole are likely to repeat within 4 years. The number for people who serve their full sentence is half that. I know they never let data get in the way of a decision, but you'd think this time they would make an exception.

Friday, November 13, 2009

MPD's Galactic Crime Probes Ready to Deploy!

This week we will begin deployment of the first five License Plate Reader cars (LPR). The cars you see in the pictures below are our own design. Initially, the LPR vendors recommended we outfit each car with four fixed, magnet mounted cameras, at a cost of around $12,000.00 each. The officers would have had to run cables through the back windows, and reposition the cameras etc. Our development team, which consists of my brother, Major Jim Harvey, Lt Ken Shackleford and myself decided we wanted a camera mounted on a pan tilt system, which could be controlled from inside the car (a good cop never gets cold, hungry or wet). We think we have designed the optimal system for law enforcement. I would not be surprised if we won another award next year on this one. Starting next week, we should be getting 10-12 cars per week on the streets, which will allow us to have over 70 of these cars working by January 1.

Here are some pictures of the cars being outfitted:






Saturday, September 19, 2009

Culture of Corruption

I recently received a copy of the letter officer Ian Seivewright wrote just before taking his own life. He hadn't been with the Sheriff's Office very long, only a few years. He had no way of knowing what to expect, or how to respond to what was happening. If you aren't prepared to deal with the "system", you will definitely have problems. When an officer first hires in, they expect all the leadership to be the best officers, and that they will be honest and trustworthy. I only wish it were so at the SCSO.

From the letter, it seems Ian had called out for help on several occassions, but nobody cared enough to listen, or maybe the ones who could help didn't think it was in there best interest.

The sheriff claimed he was going to rid the SCSO of the "culture of corruption" when he first took office, back in 2002. As I recall, that was his mantra. There was a culture of corruption at the SCSO and he was going to clean house and make everything better.

Ian Seivewright tried to enlist Mark's support several times, according to the letter I have. It seems there are also several recordings Ian made over the past several years. I would hope whoever has them would get them to the news media and the news media would air them. Here's an excerpt of Ian's letter where he tells about how he felt Mark covered up for people who were on his team:

"So Then I called The Shelby County Sheriff, Mark Luttrell, and spoke with him three different times. He told me that he was going to get to the bottom of it, which he did…..made it go away, that is one hell of a SHERIFF OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!! LOL, Right!!!!! I hope that the recording of are meeting in his office and twice on the phone don’t come out to show the line of s__t he was talking. "


Ian never really had a chance. He wasn't on the "A team", so if there was a situation between him and one of those who was connected, he would be odd man out. This is how it works at the SCSO. Ian spoke of how the administration deals with someone they want to shut up. Here's another quote from his letter on that subject:

"I know that while everyone is reading this the Sheriff’s Dept is looking hard for something to discredit me, LOL. Guess what nothing there except stories that you better make up quick. I have had 1 (one) Write-Up and 1 (one) day no pay for the deer. I hope they are working hard to make up some. So I come out of the class in the top 3, I was #1 or #2 on the list of highest stats for the shift except for the last few months. I have had perfect attendance for several years except when I hurt my ankle off-duty. So why do I get over looked on internal jobs that get posted. That’s right I’m not connected and I called out the Chief son for misconduct. More Misconduct would be reported if it wasn’t that everyone knows that they will have a hard time the rest of their career. They see what happens if you do the right thing.
"


Ian was right. They tried to pull the same stuff on me when I ran against Luttrell for Sheriff as a write in. Mark was also right, the culture of corruption needs to be fixed. However, if you are a part of that culture, you cannot fix it. I am right too. It's time for a new Sheriff.

More to follow....

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Now they say the report is wrong

A few days after my last blog posting about the 3000 inmates being given early release, I got an email saying TDOC said the news reports were wrong. As usual, we are not getting the truth. We also haven't seen a new report with clarifications on how many inmates are being given early release, or what type crimes these inmates are guilty of. Some say they think it's a good idea to release "non violent drug users." I say, we don't have people in prison who only have a charge that is equal to non-violent drug use, it is more likely that they were drug dealers, who didn't happen to have an associated charge that was violent in nature. Here's some even more disturbing data from TDOC: (click to see the report - release trends....)

As was seen in the 2001 report, recidivism rates vary dramatically by type of release.
♦ Felons released to parole:
♦ 23% 1-year failure rate: of 2,962 releases in 2002, 686 returned within one year;
♦ 41% 2-year failure rate: of 3,193 releases in 2001, 1,314 returned within two years;
♦ 50% 3-year failure rate: of 3,998 releases in 2000, 1,984 returned within three years.
♦ Felons released to probation:
♦ 30% 1-year failure rate: of 5,607 releases in 2002, 1,674 returned within one year;
♦ 44% 2-year failure rate: of 5,228 releases in 2001, 2,289 returned within two years;
♦ 49% 3-year failure rate: of 5,436 releases in 2000, 2,684 returned within three years.
♦ Felons released to expiration of sentence:
♦ 8% 1-year failure rate: of 4,408 releases in 2002, 336 returned within one year;
♦ 18% 2-year failure rate: of 4,025 releases in 2001, 722 returned within two years;
♦ 24% 3-year failure rate: of 3,981 releases in 2000, 966 returned within three years.

If you have data that says you are twice as likely to recommit crimes if you are given probation or parole, than if you serve your full sentence, why would the state give anyone probation or parole? The data says you can predict a failure rate of 50%, within the first three years of being released, if the prisoner doesn't serve out the full term of their sentence, but only 25% if the prisoner is incarcerated for the full term of the sentence.

Monday, August 10, 2009

I'm from the government, and other insanities....

The Commercial Appeal had a story last Friday about the state releasing 3000 inmates back into the community before their time was finished. The story said they were releasing non-violent drug USERS. I don't think so. Since when do we send drug USERS to prison. If a person isn't charged with extreme stuff, they don't go to prison. Most likely, they are talking about "non-violent" drug offenders, as in drug dealers who haven't been "charged" with trying to kill anyone. Even so, we have data that says after three years 50% of those released on probation or parole return to prison. If they stay in prison until the expiration of their sentence, they are 50% less likely to repeat, as only 24% return to prison.

If it is true that people are half as likely to return to prison, why would anyone want to release any of these folks before the expiration of their sentence? Oh, I forgot, it's the government.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Repeat Offenders - It's On Like a NeckBone!

Take a look at some of the stories on "Repeat Offenders" from the past few years. And, here is News Channel 3's first volley on this issue -

It's heartening to see some of my work coming to fruition. I've been ranting and raving about our dysfunctional system for the past several years, and now the media is finally picking up on it. So far, most of the television stations have done stories on the problem, Mike Fleming and I did a "Thug of the Week" radio spot for over a year, and the CA is going to do an exhaustive story on repeaters and crime, in Shelby County, some time this fall. Senator Mark Norris and Representative Curry Todd got the Administrative Office of the Tennessee Supreme Court involved and I am working with them and the Criminal Court Clerk's Office on crunching the data.

I think the repeater issue is getting out there and is on the minds of the news media, the citizens, the cops and hopefully the judges, judicial commissioners, the AG's office will take a closer look at these Urban Terrorists before allowing them back on the streets. I'm not saying people who have only been arrested a few times should not have a bond, but those who have been arrested 10 or more times should be sitting on cold steel, contemplating the error of their ways.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Yes, it IS a BIG deal!

Director Godwin sent me an email one day last month with a request that I take a look at some software he had seen at the Chief's conference. I took a look and was shocked at what I saw. The software he wanted me to review is what we announced today for our joint effort with CrimeStoppers. Heretofore, we never had the capability of asking a tipster follow-up questions. Once they got off the phone, if they didn't call back and give more information, we didn't get any more info.



This issue has been resolved by tipsoft's application. Now, when a tipster sends a tip via the web, email or texting, their tip is sent to a clearing-house in Canada (think untouchable by US lawyers), then the tip is transmitted to the RTCC. Officers can send a message back to the tipster when they decide more information is needed. This will allow us to solve crimes in a more timely manner, and since our information will be much better, we will solve more crimes.



I was already in the middle of writing an application for tracking CrimeStopper tips and the disposition of each tip, but now ther is no need. Not only does tipsoft's application handle our needs, it makes this two way, anonymous communication possible. We have already made enhancements to the tipsoft software and made suggestions for other future enhancements.



This is just another example of the MPD pushing the envelope and thereby making the city safer!



Here's the link to the new webpage http://memphis.crimestoppersweb.com

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

And now. . . The Award Winning MPD Real Time Crime Center!

Dallas, TX 5-18-2009
The Memphis Police Department won the top award for "excellence in law enforcement and information technology" at the 33rd annual IACP Conference in Dallas Texas. Director Godwin said, "we believe we are developing cutting edge technology at the MPD that will prove to be a model for the nation. From our video surveillance, to Blue Crush, to the Real Time Crime Center, to license plate reader technology and beyond, we are pushing the envelope and extending technology, thereby making us much more effective."














Director Larry Godwin, flanked on the left by RTCC System Manager John Harvey,Sgt. Ken Shackleford and on the right by Dr Richard Janikowski, Technology Manager - Major Jim Harvey

Click to enlarge photo
The Memphis Police Department received the top honor for excellence in law enforcement and information technology from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, after all contestants entries were reviewed! This award is the result of the hard work of the men and women of the MPD, the director's leadership and vision, the department's Information Technology staff, and the Real Time Crime Center, plus Dr Janikowski and his associates from the University of Memphis. Detractors say Blue Crush is just a publicity stunt, but that just isn't true. Call it what you like, but "Blue Crush" is simply a business approach to law enforcement. Determine where your problems are, then deploy your resources accordingly.

What is not being reported, is the impact of the MPD on crime in the city of Memphis and even the surrounding areas. The city of Memphis is getting better every day, as it relates to crime, while the metro area is not. Many of our citizens don't know of the good work and the success we've had fighting crime, because the news media has not been reporting this. What has been reported is that the city of Memphis is the 2nd most dangerous city in America. The facts show that the metro area is 2nd, and Memphis has fallen from 6th (three years ago) to 14th. The media, including Forbes Magazine, has been applying the metro area statistics to the city of Memphis. This does nothing for the image of Memphis, and it also dishonors the work we have done.

Here are the facts:
Memphis:

2006 Crime Ranking 6th
2007 Crime Ranking 8th
2008 Crime Ranking 14th
2009 Crime Ranking ?









Here is the Metro Area Map - A Nine County Area which includes Tipton, Fayette, and Shelby in Tennessee, Crittenden in Arkansas, and Tate, Tunica, Desoto and Marshall counties in Mississippi. This includes reported crimes in Covington, Millington,Arlington,Bartlett,Germantown, Collierville, Sommerville, Olive Branch, Horn Lake, Southaven, West Memphis, etc. I think those areas are having an uptick in crime due to Blue Crush pushing them out of Memphis. Additionally, the MPD is showing a year-to-date reduction of almost 10%.

Click this link to see the report
Metro Area Map - 2nd Most Dangerous Metro Area
Metro Area Map - 2nd Most Dangerous Metro Area



















Click this link to see the City Ranking Report
Memphis Map - 14th Most Dangerous and falling
Memphis Map - 14th Most Dangerous and falling

















The MPD is leading the way in fighting crime through the increased use and development of technology. We expect to fall much farther in the "Most Dangerous Cities" ranking this
November, as we continue pursuing excellence in what we do!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Memphis Police Department - A Success Story and a Model for Law Enforcement


More to follow, after tomorrow's press release!!

As always - Click the Image for a Larger View

Sunday, May 03, 2009

ALPR Car Success Stories

The MPD's LPR camera cars are working. Here is just one of the success stories. I have edited the officers report narrative.


On 04/30/09 at 20:44 hours, officers responded to Recovery/Foreign with Arrest. The Reporting Officer advised while running the LPR (license plate reader) car at Jackson and Buchanan the defendant was driving a stolen Veh. #1: Toyota Camry with TN tag XXXXXXX. Officer's got behind the def who went E/B Vernon and bailed out of the vehicle in front of 3409 Vernon. Officers caught the defendant, after a short foot chase at Vernon and National, where he was taken into custody without further incident. Dispatch advised the Veh. #1: Toyota Camry was signal w(stolen) out of Millington TN R&I#0904000095MI NIC#V972681319. Officer J Johnson 4414 notified station b who notified Millington PD. The defendant also had a warrant for burglary to M/V warrant#08033621, and a suspended license for failure to satisfy citation 120304 . The defendant was transported to 201 Poplar felony response for further investigation.

Monday, April 27, 2009

We're Number 14! We're NOT Number 2








Click on any of these images to view in a larger frame.
As you can see, Memphis has a population of over 670,000, and the Metro area is almost twice that size.








Here are snapshots of the pertinent portions of the CQ Press reports that Forbes has misquoted:












Here is the crime report for the most dangerouse cities in the US:
http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/CityCrime2008_Rank_Rev.pdf

And here is the crime report for the Metro areas in the US:
http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/metroCrime2008_Rank_Rev.pdf

I was dismayed to see the CA and every other Memphis news outlet reporting the mis-information that came from Forbes Magazine. It said Memphis was ranked the 2nd most dangerous city in the US, but the fact is; they were misquoting the report. The report (from CQ Press) actually shows the metro area as 2nd most dangerous. That encompasses nine counties, which happen to include Memphis. If you look at the most dangerous cities list, Memphis is ranked 14th, which is a precipitous fall from being number 6 in 2006 and number 8 in 2007 and we are cautiosly optimistic that we will fall even further when the numbers come in this November. As of this morning, our daily tracking showed we are down 10% (year to date) over last year and almost 15% ytd over 2006.

I'm not saying 14th is where we want to be, but it does the officers of the Memphis Police Department a terrible disservice to report that their work is having no effect. Crime is down 10%, in Memphis, year to date, and that is also not being reported. How about correcting the story and reporting that we have made great strides in interdicting crime in Memphis with the same vigor you have mis-reported the facts? The MPD is doing a great job at taking criminals off the streets. The courts, judges and legislature could do much, much more to help keep them off the streets, but they chose not to. The judges hand out bonds on people who have been arrested 10,20,30 or more times as though they were first offenders. The legislature claims there is a "fiscal note" on every piece of anti-crime legislation, using numbers they have pulled from a hat, and the prosecutors appear to be going along with these low bonds.

The MPD has been working about as hard, and smart as we know how, and it appears our work has paid off, even if the media doesn't want to report it. We will continue to test new systems, keep what works, and discard what doesn't. We are pushing the envelope on technology and it is making a difference. I'll more to say about that in the upcoming weeks, when several of us make a trip to Dallas to accept an international award for excellence in Information Technology and Law Enforcement!

The Republicans have always talked about being tough on crime, but their actions belie their words. They will not be passing anything significant this year. It looks to me like all the legislature is of the same party . . . chickens!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Not a Revolving Door, More like a Photon Accelerator


My chief sent an email this week that showed a guy who had been arrested 17 times, mostly for burglary. I glanced down at the name and bells started ringing.

My old friend, William Fletcher, was back in jail. I first encountered William when I was assigned to the detective bureau of the SCSO, back in 2002. I was going over offense reports when I saw one that said a m/w had been seen carrying a neighbor's lawn mower to his car, a red, ford, taurus, license number xxx-xxx (I can't remember the details of the car or tag). I ran the tag and found out it was a rental car and had been rented to Mr Fletcher's mother. I called the neighbors on both sides of his mom's house and found out his name, and that he had been arrested numerous times, and would probably be good for several burglaries. By the time I visited Mr Fletcher, I had compiled a pretty thick folder on him.

I knocked on the door and asked him to come outside to talk to me. Once he was outside, I led him back to my cruiser, which was parked behind a red ford, taurus bearing license number xxx-xxx and proceeded to ask him if he knew anything about the theft of a lawnmower. He said no, he didn't know anything about it. I said, "well, let me read you something" and proceeded to read the narrative about a neighbor seeing a m/w taking a lawnmower and putting it in the trunk of a red, ford, taurus bearing license number xxx-xxx. William didn't look too good. I said, "do you think might remember something now?" William said, "do you have a light?"

Long story - short. William confessed to 100 burglaries and since I was moving out of the bureau to go to Information Systems, he started working with another detective who used him to bust some fencing operations and pawn shops. William knew the system and he was working it to his benefit. He has been arrested several more times since I arrested him, yet he always seems to skate on by the punishment. Even now, after 18 arrests, he only needs 1,500.00 to get out of jail because somebody has set his bond at 15,000.00. That's right, 10% gets you out, and if he gets out, guess what he will be doing? Yep, stealing your stuff and doing dope.

Here's the honest-to-God truth. We don't really need tougher laws, we need tougher judges and magistrates. The law says they can consider past history in setting bond, yet they continue to unleash these terrorists on us. The sad thing is this isn't the most egregious case. Look back on my previous posts and check out the guy who had been arrested 38 times and was given as $25,000.00 bond by Germantown. He made bond within hours of being jailed, and is due in Criminal Court in May for cooking his own meth. To these magistrates and judges I say may your handiwork result in your own destruction!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

10 strikes and you are done!

We've all heard about California's 3 strikes law. It is sooooo harsh. Three felony convictions and that's it. Well, here in Tennessee, we have 449 strikes and "that was a nice try, swing away some more." Our most arrested thug reached 449 arrests before he succumbed to lifestyle and ceased to exist. Now that our legislature is in the hands of the Republicans, surely something will be done to stop these "urban terrorists" from roaming our streets. Yeah right! Personally, I can't see much difference in the Republicans and the Democrats. Neither party is concerned about citizen safety. They are more concerned with "fiscal notes", which are attached to any legislation, using numbers that are pulled out of the air, than they are about your safety. What is the cost of allowing these miscreants to roam the streets? How many people have to be robbed, raped, bludgeoned and/or murdered before something is done that stops this and stops it now?

This year, there are several "tough" anti-crime bills in the legislature, and most have been sent to sub committees where they can die. They want us to think they are doing something because they are going to enhance the punishment for aggravated burglary. They might as well go ahead and make it apply only to burglaries where the criminal is left handed, and perpetrates the crime on any Thursday, between 5:00 and 5:01pm, on any leap year!

How about a bill that says, if you are convicted 10 times you are no longer going to be free. (We have to start with 10 because there are thousands) Just like New York state, our thugs will see the light when some are sentenced to life in prison with no parole and flee to Arkansas, Mississippi, and other more criminal friendly places.


Here's another in a long line of cases that is guaranteed to tick you off, if you are a law abiding, tax paying, stand up citizen. Last weekend our new License Plate Reader car was used to detect a felon, namely Irby Kimble. Irby was arrested in Frayser on a Germantown warrant for identity theft, fraud and theft of property $1,000 to $10,000. He was transferred to Germantown PD officers and they took him to their jail where he was given a $25,000 bond. So, for $2,500.00 he got out within a few hours. Well, everyone deserves a bond, right? NOT! This guy is also due in Shelby County Criminal court in May for manufacturing Meth and other drug charges. He has been arrested 38 times for things like aggravated burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, carrying a pistol, and on and on and on. Someone needs to explain to me why the judges haven't looked at this thug's record and denied bond. Is there anyone who thinks this guy isn't cooking dope, burglarizing and robbing people if he is free? Is anyone listening? Are you mad as hell yet! Am I a voice in the wilderness? Contact your representatives and tell them how you feel, if you want to help fight this insanity!


Click to Enlarge Photos
















I created a webpage that is linked off the Real Time Crime Center to help you find your representatives and senators - https://kiosk.memphispolice.org/cyberwatch/MPD_Legislative_Email.htm

Monday, March 23, 2009

ALPR Cameras in Memphis


We did a press conference on the new ALPR camera cars today and things went well. They went so well, I think tomorrow you will see the "true power of the force." I'm just going to post this guy's picture today, and you can watch tne news for the follow up tomorrow.....

Friday, March 06, 2009

When Is Enough -ENOUGH?

We've been talking about repeat offenders, or I have been, for several years now. The question I would like answered is this, at what point do we say a person can no longer be allowed to roam freely among the productive people? Do you think there is any chance that a person with 10,20,30 or more arrests will change their ways? I seriously doubt it. I don't mind giving people a few, or even 10 strikes, but I think anything more should make them become "property" of the state! I know, that seems harsh to some, but there has to be a line in the sand that cannot be crossed. Where do you think it should be, or should we continue giving them "one more last-last chance?

Monday, March 02, 2009

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!








Snow and crime apparently don't mix. This morning I received my daily update on crime stats from our analysts and it drove home the point that snow is a good thing!

Part I crimes were down 40 percent - for 1 day, over the same time last year, and 45% since 2006! Actually, we're doing much better driving crime down, and I know we'll never have a sustained decrease like this, but over several years we will have a continued decrease in crime.

Blue Crush, RTCC, CyberWatch, citizen watch groups, etc all have a hand in driving these numbers down. Be sure to watch for my report on the LPR cars and what we are doing with them over the next few weeks. We are 13 days away from launching the first "Stalker"!

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

MPD Crime Probe Stikes Back






















Well, it's no longer the "Death Star". I guess that is a little too politically incorrect, so we will have to give these LPR (License Plate Reader) cars a different monicker. I'm thinking Crime Probe, in keeping with the Star Wars theme. Last night, Sgt Ken Shackelford and I were out in one of the prototype probes near Poplar and Highland. We were watching cars go by and listening to the audible alerts - whenever a tag was read. The license plate is checked to see if the vehicl has been reported as stolen, then we check the local MVR (motor vehicle records) table for a match, then warrants, sex offenders, etc. etc. etc.

If we get a match on the tag, but the tag has expired, we get an audible alert. We get a different alert when a sex offender is possibly detected, another on a possible warrant, and . . . I think you get the picture. The sound we really want to hear, though, is a siren. When that happens, the name on the warrant and the name on the car have a match, and so it went last night. While listening to the computer sound like a Jack in the Box, as the cars went by, we heard the siren.

I'll bet Terrence Jones has been as nervous as a mouse in a lions den since 2005, when OCU did a Knock and Talk at his mother's house and found a bunch of marijuanna. A warrant for his arrest was obtained, but he has not been arrested since then. Imagine his surprise when we blocked his car in and Shack put him under arrest! He was a little anxious, until he was placed in the back seat of the squad car and I informed him he was now Notorious - not so B.I.G. I told Terrence that he was THE first arrest generated by the LPR/ MPD Crime Probe. His eyes brightened as he pondered the meaning of his newfound infamy. Terrence had a stack of CDs in his hand, which he said were cut by his "little buddy". I suggested he get him to do a wrap on being the first arrestee of the MPD Crime Probes. Coming soon to a record stow near you!

















A word of warning to the people of Memphis and Shelby County - keep your tags up to date and avoid the fines and court costs! The MPD will be putting over 100 Probes on the street this year.


We have deployed a "skycop" trailer in the Poplar Plaza shopping center because Blue Crush data indicated a problem with cars being broken into at that location. The RTCC is monitoring the cameras as I type.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Help the MPD with your Graphical Skills

Okay, I admit it. My strong suite is not doing graphics, it is dealing with data. That means I need help on the graphical side. I need some better looking icons for our maps to denote the following:

Burglars
Parolees
Sex Offenders
Warrants
Felons
Scofflaws
Gangsters

I created the icon below and I think it looks ok, but I would much rather have someone volunteer to do some custom icons for the MPD's maps. If anyone out there woujld like to volunteer their talents . . . I would love to take advantage of your skills. I've always heard the "form follows function". Well, the functionality is there, but I think the form could be better. Anyone interested in helping?