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!

Metro Law Enforcement?

I keep hearing all the candidates talking about forcing the MPD and SCSO to work as metro units. That sounds nice, but having worked for both agencies, I know a little about the metro units. The county guys ALWAYS said they outworked the city and guess what the city guys had to say? Yep, it seemed to me that every metro unit was a freak, or that's what my pastor (Adrian Rogers) would have called it. He said, "anything with two heads is a freak." I agree. The county officers would tell a city commander they didn't work for him, and the city officers the same to the county officers. There were differences on methodology, planning and all sorts of other issues. The guys all got along, but the commanders would butt heads over what, when, where and how. It's just natural for commanders to try to implement their plan.

Director Godwin pulled the MPD's resources out of the metro units because of just such problems. The lines of communication and responsibility are much clearer when there is one commander who gives clear, concise, data driven directions. Since pulling out of metro dui, the MPD has been making many more arrests than before. Not creating a metro-narcotics unit is one of the best things to happen in law enforcement. OCU has got the criminals on the run with Blue Crush and now they have the new CyberWatch program that lets them target warrants within police wards, around apartments and also schools.

I think there is a workable solution to this metronization, and that is to give the enforcement responsibilities to the MPD. The current Sheriff doesn't know law enforcement from tort reform. The MPD's director has been there, done that and as a result we see the difference in the statistics. Crime in the city is actually down, whereas, crime is up in the county.

So, I think we do need to have a consolidated law enforcement effort. Let the SCSO run the jail and civil/courts and let the MPD absorb the deputies and continue the "Blue Crush" crime fight.

One example is the SCSO's Fugitive squad. They have about 55 officers from commanders to patrolmen. The MPD could absorb them and distribute the warrants to each of their ward cars, which would give us 24/7 coverage in every ward. The SCSO can only put a few cars per shift on the street. As for the other few enforcement officers in the SCSO,(there are about 327 total), they could be put into the enforcement effort of Blue Crush. The citizens would get better, more efficient, and more effective service.

I'm sure the deputies would love coming to work for the MPD, particularly those who are close to retirement. You see the MPD has a "drop" program that lets the officers retire 3 years before they quit working. Money they would have paid into retirement goes into a fund which they are allowed to take when they finally quit working. Some leave with over $150,000.00. The county's "drop" plan happens when they drop you from their rolls, and you "drop" dead a few years later. I asked someone in the county administration why the county didn't have a drop plan like the city and I was told it wasn't cost neutral. Hmmm, I think they just didn't want to have to deal with it. Meanwhile the deputies pay continues to diminish. I could go on and on about how under the current Sheriff, officers have lost money every year. So, to the officers of the SCSO I say, "Come on in boys, the water's fine!"

Metro? I don't think so. Consolidated enforcement? Sure, the MPD has over 2,000 officers, the SCSO 327. Remember, "the tail doesn't wag the dog."

CyberWatch here to help

CyberWatch (Phase I) has just been released. Beta testers have been telling us this is an excellent tool for the citizens. One of our precinct commanders tells me burglaries are down 25% in the areas that are using it. That's significant!

Here's the link to the CyberWatch page!

You can signup at the MPD's main webpage also.

On Being the Police

Being a cop means you are part of a larger group of cops, a gang, if you will. I worked for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office for 32 years before retiring as a lieutenant. During that time, I either rode with or trained with cops from all over the country. I rode with Miami’s narcotics officers on several occasions back in the late ‘80s. I trained with officers from New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami, and other cities too. I even elk hunted in Colorado with a bunch from Los Angeles once upon a time. Then we have had officers visit from other countries in the past, and other than the accents, they might just as well have been from the USA. The bottom line is this. Cops are the same, no matter where they come from. Sure some agencies have better training, better equipment and better pay. But, the bottom line is – they are pretty much the same people. I think the common thread is we become cops to try to make things better.

I was reminded of this again today while in Nashville, TN to attend an Allison Krause concert. Prior to the concert my wife wanted to go to the Opryland Hotel. I happened to know there was a Bass Pro just up the road, so I dropped her at the hotel and I went to see the “Wally-World” of sportman’s merchandise. Sure we have one in Memphis, but this one is bigger and has more stuff. After we had done our browsing, we headed back to where we are staying (in Brentwood) and I decided to pull off the road to look at Google Maps on my Treo 650. I was trying to find the best route when I heard a tap on the window. I looked up to see a fellow gang member (one of Nashville’s finest). He asked if everything was ok (I guess he noticed the FOP car tags) and I told him we were just getting the best route. I introduced myself and thanked him for stopping to check on our welfare.

I have done similar for other “gang members” from other jurisdictions too.
Last year while on my way to a Colorado Elk hunt with a buddy, we stopped in Hayes, KS to get gas and something to eat. I had filled the truck up and was noticing some kids in a car, acting suspicious. There were three in the car and two more who had gotten out of the car and gone inside. A police car came up behind the car just after they pulled in. The officer got out and approached them. I think he gave them a ticket for running a red light a few blocks back. He was about to leave when I waved him down and told him how the two who had gotten out of the car, came out of the store while he was there, and decided to walk away. Hmmm, can you say “holding drugs” maybe? Well, I gave him the descriptions and their direction of travel and he went to look for them.

I guess the bottom line is, once we become cops, we actually join a larger group of cops. We have a shared value set and a shared set of experiences, and we tend to watch each other’s backs. And I think that’s a good thing!

CyberWatch is Here

CyberWatch is Coming

Stay tuned for more info on the Memphis Police Department's newest crime fighting iniative! Coming in the next few weeks!

Still the One...

Last year, in July, I blogged about the repeat, repeat, repeat offenders in Shelby County. I had done some analysis of the data and found a person I believe has been arrested the most. Kimberly Johnson is a female black, rni # 68844. In July she had been arrested 200 times. Today she is in the county lockup and has bumped her grand total to 208 arrests. Isn't it about time something was done with people who have demonstrated they WILL NOT contribute to society? I guess you could say she stimulates the economy though. She is certainly providing work for law enforcement, courts, pre-trial, etc.

I believe people like this are the reason we have such a crime problem in our community. Until we do something that sends a strong signal to them, that we will not allow such behavior, they will continue to drag our community down. As I've said many times before, if we applied some simple Psychology, what I call the hot-plate approach to law enforcement, we would see a drastic drop in crime. How many times has anyone burned themselves on a hot stove? Usually, the answer is once. The punishment is swift, certain and severe. If we want to stop the crime, all we need do is ramp up on the negative reinforcements. Of that I'm positive!

Something Old, Something New

I have accepted a position with the Memphis Police Department as a technical consultant. I will be helping to create the Real Time Crime Center and also working on other projects. My email address there is - John.Harvey@memphistn.gov . If you have need to contact me for any business related to policing or law enforcement, feel free to send me an email.

The something old is that I will be developing systems that put critical information into the hands of those who use our systems. The website I developed while assigned to the District Attorney's office has enabled officers to make thousands of arrests over the years. That base code was also utilized by my brother Lt. Jim Harvey of the MPD and his partner Sgt. Joey Catanzaro to develop the MPD's KIOSK which has had the same results.

The something new is that I have more ideas about how we can better utilize data to combat crime and the MPD command staff is very supportive. That wasn't the case at the SCSO. I have talked about some of my ideas on my cyber-posse.com website and there are others I'd like to see implemented, but in due time. In Thursday's meeting I raised the issue of repeat, repeat, repeat offenders to Dr. Janikowski and his eyes lit up. He said we need that information. I also spoke with the director about it and he too wants to further develop that information and to use it to point out what must be done to correct the problems. They already knew that we had a repeat offender problem, but weren't aware of the exact numbers.

Sidebar:
I attended the MPD’s tracks meeting last Thursday (modeled on New York’s Compstat) and I must say I was impressed. It was refreshing to see the Director get up and lead the session. He knows whereof he speaks because he has worked the streets. He is measuring successes and failures and holding commanders accountable for the effectiveness of crime reduction strategies in their areas. We’ve got some great plans in store for the MPD and other agencies that will be accessing the systems we develop. I predict a precipitous drop in crime over the next year or so.


On another note. I’m also having a little trouble getting used to being appreciated, but I’m sure I can adapt!

Rocket Scientist?

Ever wonder why males tend to do stupid things, moreso than females? I do. A few months ago, I took a road trip up to Kansas City, MO to watch a football game and on the return trip happened to see something that made me look twice. I caught a glimpse of something in my rear view mirror, so I looked again. Yep, someone was doing wheelies at 60+ miles per hour on a crotch rocket motorcycle. It was too far away to tell much, but I already knew it wasn't a female. I slowed a bit, and sure enough, here comes Dr Stupid. He was slowing to about 50 and popping wheelies. Then he would speed up again and do some more. Here's the "crotch-rocket" scientist:

click to enlarge

Was Darrent Williams a Gang Banger?

My favorite NFL team had just been cancelled from post season play and I guess some of, it not all, the players were drowning their misery. The story is that starting cornerback, Darrent Williams, was gunned down while riding in a stretch limo, after leaving a Denver nightclub. I started looking at the photo journal put up by the team when the tattoos caught my eye. Having been a cop for over 30 years and having worked with the gang unit on occasion, and having arrested numerous gangsters during my time, I was particularly interested in the tattoos. I copied some of the photos from the Broncos site and zoomed in on a few.

It appears to me that I can see a 5 point star on Darrent's left bicept and possibly a pitchfork just below it. Maybe I'm just being overly suspicious, but you can tell me what you think. I'm posting the photos here:

Click to Enlarge
Pitchfork?


Vice Lord star?



If these are gang tats, the next question is this: was Darrent a current gang member, or was this a tat from his past? I hate that Darrent has met this fate, but if he was a gangster, maybe this will once again demonstrate the perils of a gangster's existence. If he was a gangster, was it a rival gang that did the shooting, or was it someone within the same gang? Another thought is that it might have been a Broncos fan who was mad because they went in the tank over the last 7 games. Whatever the "reason", the end result is a terrible waste of talent and humanity.

Here's a link to some gang tattoos for comparison.

Want to buy a Handgun?

We've got a new Congressman in Memphis and I was just thinking maybe I would send him an idea that, I think, needs to be implemented. Currently, if a person wants to purchase a gun from a private citizen, they can just make the transaction without trying to find out if the gun is stolen, or they can try to get the seller to go with them to find a cop. The cop can check the gun to see if it is stolen, because most won't check it unless they have the gun in their possession. I think the FBI could help recover thousands of stolen guns, and other items, if they would allow citizens to check serialized items against the NCIC stolen articles database.

I can't even remember how many times I've arrested someone carrying a pistol that was stolen, and they were not charged with Receiving and Concealing Stolen Property. The thought is that you can't prove they knew it was stolen. Well, I agree, if the item was stolen months ago, you can't get a conviction on that. So, why not open up the information to the public? If someone brings a gun or any other item to me and I run it and find out it is reported as stolen. I'm not giving it back. I'm calling the cops and turning it over. How many other people would do the same? If only a handful of people did that, there would be fewer stolen guns on the streets.

This access could also allow people to check other items, like vehicles, tractors, four wheelers, etc. to see if they are stolen. I think this is an idea whose time has come. Anyone else agree?

Crime Fighter - Extra-Ordinary

Hmmm, as I recall our current Sheriff ran for office on a promise of employing functional consolidation. When he took office, there were already a batch of "metro" operations in place. Since that time things appear to have gone south. There was even talk of a "Metro Narcotics" unit being formed right after his initial win, and there was a lot of time and money spent on trying to make it happen. The end result was nothing. There was even talk of a Metro Fugitive operation, it too never happened. The MPD refused to throw-in with Mark.

Then there was the metro-gang unit. The MPD pulled out of that last year and put their officers on the street. Mark took his ten men and formed his own "unit". I'm told he has pared that large number down to six, so instead of calling it the gang unit, I think it would be much more appropriate to call it "our gang". You know like the "Little Rascals". Wonder who is playing Alfalfa? Welcome to the gang club.

The latest revelation is the breakup of the Metro DUI unit. MPD Director Godwin pulled the plug on that operation just yesterday. I guess he agrees with me that running beer stings is not the highest and best use of available manpower. But, then again, Godwin has actually made arrests. He understands crime fighting and since his trip to New York, he has had an epiphany. If anyone cares to do the research, they will see that I have been preaching the answer for the past two years - non stop, ZERO tolerance coupled with innovation. This was my plan from the outset and based on what I had seen from working in the streets and developing systems that are highly effective.

Note to Mark - Mark you cut the resources of the SCSO down to dangerous levels so you could look good to the taxpayers, and now "the chickens have come home to roost." Go back to the county commission and ask for money to hire more deputies, then consolidate your narcotics street club (less than 10), your "our gang club" (6 officers) and the Fugitive squad (less than 40). Ask for an additional 100 officers and forget about Glammer Slammer II. I know you just floated that out there to scare people into supporting your real agenda, which is to get CCA to take over the jail and corrections center. Next, stop answering law enforcement questions like you had risen through the ranks. Let Chief Oldham answer those, he's been there, done that. You can field the jail questions.

On another note, and while I'm still being instructive to the high shurf, I see you cleaned up your campaign finance operation to the point that the only convict I recognized was Bobby Lanier, and he's on everybody's list. I know you were saddened to see your long time friend and campaign contributor (Joe Cooper) get arrested recently. But, I guess you can look back on that picture you had taken with him at the car lot with fond memories. Now, don't get too down about this next revelation but, I'm also hearing some more of your friends/contributors are going to be staying at the Crossbar Hotel - and soon. (Oh well, easy come, easy go.) Back to the donations - I didn't even see the wives of convicts or underworld types names on this list. The only thing you've got left to fix is taking money from people who do business with the county, you know like people who run body shops and wrecker services and other such things. Of course, I also noted that you didn't take in nearly as much money this time either!

Now, back to my review of all things criminal in Shelby County. Under the current Sheriff, the county has experienced a blossoming crime problem. Violent crime in Memphis only grew by less than 3% in the first half of this year, yet in the county it grew by 17%. Why is that? Could it be because of failed policies? Isn't that what was said about Memphis and the reason it had gotten so bad? I believe it is. This is why it is dangerous to have a Sheriff who has never done the law enforcement side of the business. If he were merely the titular head, and he delegated the crime fighting to people who had a plan of attack, things might be different. But, the reality is that he is the Sheriff and he appears to think that because he won the race, he's a lawman. I say the facts don't support that assertion. He's now into his fifth year and things are not looking better, they are looking worse. Not only is crime getting worse in the county, the police chiefs in the other municipalities are shunning him. I believe it is because he "knows not" what he does.

Now, I know this posting will rankle many people. You'll say, we had no alternative but to vote for him. Well, that may be true. As a write-in candidate, I knew I had no chance, and the other alternative wasn't acceptable. So, I'm merely pointing out that this guy isn't getting it done. If you find anything I've said to be untrue, please let me know and I'll make the corrections and apologize. On the other hand, if you review the facts, I believe you have to agree. Sheriff Luttrell is failing the taxpayers of Shelby County.

In the immortal words of Ronald Reagan, "are you better off today, than you were four years ago?" In terms of crime, I would say not.

And then there were Eleven

Arrest or indictment aren't necessarily indicative of guilt, but it sure doesn't look good. From the evidence that has been presented to the public at this point, to the historical factors, to a general sense of criminal conduct in and around the political scene, I'd say this bunch is pretty much "toast".

I was talking about this with my wife earlier tonight and she said something I thought hit the nail on the head. (I always check with her to see how the general public feels about something, because I think she is representative). She said, "this doesn't surprise me, isn't this what politics really is anyway?" I found myself trying to defend politicians, then stopping midstream and pretty much agreeing. At least in Memphis and Shelby County, this appears to be the way it is. I've been railing about the culture of corruption here for the past year or so and when I first started talking about it, I got a wake-up call. When I mentioned that so-and-so had taken money from a convicted felon, almost every politician I spoke with said, "well, I took money from him too, but I didn't know." I don't recall ANY of them giving the money back, except my friend Terry Roland. Terry got a check in the mail from one of the more notorious ex felons and he promptly put it in a return envelope with a note thanking him for offering to help.

I'd say this would be a great opportunity for these "elected officials" to go through their books and return any money they took from the underworld, wouldn't you? Do you agree that a sheriff shouldn't take money from a convicted drug dealer? Do you agree that a DA shouldn't take contributions from a convicted felon, and that a mayor, clerk, commissioner, councilperson, or even a school board member should also adhere to the same policy? I've been trying to get the CA to dig into these politicians financial disclosures and connect the dots so the citizens can see what I already know to be true. So far they have yet to undertake the project. However, hope springs eternal, and they may now take a look. I'm told, they are nosing around a little more these days. . . .

Memphis Politics - Three More Bite the Dust - More to Follow

From WHBQ's Website -
Memphis, Tenn. (WHBQ)- Operation Main Street Sweeper and Operation Clean Sweep are federal investigations that caught three city leaders in an alleged web of public corruption. City councilmen Edmund Ford and Rickey Peete and former Shelby County Commissioner Joe Cooper have all been arrested and face 20 years in prison.

It's tragic on the one hand, yet usual and customary, on the other. As I have said many times in the past, we have a culture of corruption in Memphis and Shelby County. That is a contributing factor to this constant cycle of indictment, denial, conviction of public officials. The current Sheriff, mayors, the District Attorney, and most of the commissioners and council members have enjoyed the company of these indictees. I pulled Mark Luttrell, AC Wharton, Bill Gibbons, and other's disclosure forms this year. One thing that almost shocked me was that all of them had taken money from convicted felons. Bill Gibbons called me the day after I pulled his, I guess with the idea of attempting to intimidate me. I told him I was checking to see who had taken money from a convicted cocaine dealer, Rusty Hyneman. Well he offered that he didn't even know him and had only met him once and he went further to say he would never take money from him. I said, I didn't think he would, but then again, I didn't think the Sheriff or mayor would do that either. I thanked him for calling and went about my business. I found later, after rechecking, that he had taken money from a convicted felon by the name of Ricky Peete. The same Rickey Peete who was arrested today.

The local politicians see no problem with consorting with these underworld figures and even take money from them, as Mark Luttrell has said, with no apology.

I'm posting just a few clips of the disclosure forms of some of our illustrious officials who are and have been pals with these criminals and soon to be criminals:

Here is evidence that Bill Gibbons is supported by Rickey Peete.


And here is evidence of Mark Luttrell's contribution from Joe Cooper. Of course, I could also post snapshots of him taking money from other convicted felons like Rusty Hyneman, William B. Tanner and others, but since Joe Cooper is the one who was arrested today, I'll just post his.


Luttrell says he thinks it's okay to run with these people. Here's a quote from Channel 3's website this summer:
In their first live televised debate, both incumbent Sheriff Mark Luttrell and Democrat Reginald French answered some tough questions.

Especially on campaign contributions. Both admitted taking money from convicted felons.

"I make no apologies for working with people who are contributing to the betterment of society who have paid their debt to society," says Luttrell.

Then there's this picture of Joe Cooper at Mark Luttrell's HQ Grand Opening:




Wintermute points out that Steve Cohen passed a law that will help ensure that thugs cannot serve once convicted, thereby closing a gaping loophole that allowed Ricky Peete to get back in the groove. While I don't agree with a some of Steve Cohen's views, he did us a great favor with this one.

"This year in the Tennessee General Assembly, Senator Steve Cohen was successful in getting restoration of the right to vote streamlined for most ex-felons, except those convicted of a few named offenses (new law in .pdf); but on a subject Steve and I discussed previously, he also got passed in that law a prohibition on anyone committing malfeasance in public office ever being able to regain the right to vote -- and consequently to be able to run for office again -- in Tennessee. This supplements the 1989 law providing for a permanent exclusion from public office for bribery and a 10-year bar for official misconduct."

One thing some of these arrestees have in common is they are no strangers to the legal system. Ricky Peete served time in the Federal pen once already, as did Joe Cooper. Another thing that keeps surfacing is billboards. There must be a ton of money in billboard advertising . . . .

It also seems a little more than coincidence that Joe Cooper has been linked to another politician with the last name of Peete - now deceased Chancellor Floyd Peete.
Joe testified he arranged for the chancellor to fly on a plane owned by Rusty Hyneman to a Sugar Bowl game. Joe was working for William B. Tanner at the time, and also Rusty, I guess. Here's a link to a site that has the story the Commercial Appeal ran. And here's an excerpt from the story:

On Tanner, Cooper testified that the billboard and banking mogul hired him sometime around 1996, paying him $60,000 a year as a land development consultant and business executive.

Although Cooper's employment ended near the start of 2000, he testified he "was still doing things'' for Tanner and carrying three of the businessman's credit cards around Labor Day 2001 when Chancellor Peete called him from Florida.

Cooper recalled Peete telling him "his credit card was not working and he needed to pay for some rooms for the weekend.'' Cooper said he called Peete's hotel and "purported myself to be William B. Tanner,'' then used one of Tanner's cards to cover the $1,400 charge.

A month after the incident, Peete ruled in Tanner's favor in the lawsuit against him, ordering Peck to reimburse Tanner for $719,586 spent in his legal defense. Peck's lawyers contend the hotel charge amounted to improper influence, yet Cooper said Peete never knew he'd used Tanner's card.

EETREDSILEEIBII Crime Fighting Plan

Yep, it's finally "out there" - EETREDSILEEIBII That's the acronym you get when you take the first letter of each of these brilliant crime fighting strategeries. I think it's pronounced like etreadsalibi. Politicians never cease to amaze me. They have an uncanny ability to focus everything on themselves, particularly when they think there is a possibility of government funding which can be used to push their names out in front of the public. If they can provide some menial jobs for a lot of people through these boondoggles, all the better. WREG noted how the general citizenry (you and me) were excluded from participating in this mind meld.

Even though citizens were excluded from participating in the planning and discussion, I believe actually fighting crime is a job best left to those who have done it before. The MPD is aggressively attacking crime and I applaud them for that. The problem is the other players, aren't on the same page. If crime is to be deterred in Shelby County, there must be an emphasis on behavior modification. There is nothing in this plan that speaks to that. Only touchy feely stuff, other than the MPD's aggressive enforcement approach. The Sheriff has gutted the Sheriff's Office so there aren't enough officers to do anything. This summer I reported that the gang unit only had 10 officers. I spoke with a buddy the other day who still works there and he said they now have six!

The DA wants more money and less work. Hmm, a smaller caseload? More courtrooms, more prosecutors, more, more, more. Kinda has a democrat ring to it, doesn't it. Sounds a lot like the County Commission. Heck, why not, let's add a black district attorney because the white one certainly can't identify with the majority of Memphis. While we're at it, the Shurf is a white guy too.

But I digress. . . back on point. If we want to change these thugs behavior, we have to condition them to not do wrong. The best way to do that is implement a program (without a fiscal note) that puts them into a progressive discipline matrix. You come to jail the first time, you pretty much just get to spend the night (shock effect). The second time you come to jail, we turn the heat up. A person who makes the third visit to jail should not be looking forward to the trip, because he shoals already know he will be working at the PENAL FARM (I didn't say correctional center because that doesn't really exist). The more times a person comes to jail, the more punishment gets doled out. We don't need expensive jails to make this work. It works in Phoenix and they use tent compounds. We can do the same.

I noticed that the judges and representatives from the TN Dept of Corrections weren't included in this soiree. That's unfortunate because they are the ones who are allowing these thugs back on the streets. Police can arrest all they want, but until there is a jail undercrowding committee, we'll have problems with criminals breaking into our homes. I've said it before but anytime you have a metro area with over 17,000 people who have been arrested 10 times or more each, you have a problem. Shelby County has a group of over 17,000 who have been arrested over 253,000 times. If we factor each event as costing us just $500.00, they will have cost us over 125 million dollars.

I don't hold out much hope for this plan because there is no emphasis on changing behavior, which is all "fighting crime" or "crime reduction" really amounts to. The goal is the cessation of criminal activity, but we reward our thugs with a get out of jail card as soon as they get there.

Here's the strategerie and my comments on each item.

1.Expand data-driven police deployment in Shelby County .

This is a good thing. Crime analysis, properly done, can even predict patterns of crime. Of course, some areas are already no-brainers to the street cops. More aggressive enforcement should follow.

2.Expand the Project Safe Neighborhood law enforcement partnership model in Shelby County

What is really being said is we need to be more aggressive. I concur.

3.Toughen state laws for gun crime

I’m for that, but that means the DA can’t plea bargain it down, or throw the charge out. How about the DA reviews each offender and concentrates on repeat, repeat, repeat offenders. More than tougher gun laws, tougher prosecution of these parasites would be much more effective.

4.Reduce the caseload per prosecutor in the D.A.’s office for more effective prosecution

Yeah right.

5.Expand Drug Court Program so that it operates consistently and at full capacity

Duh, this is a no brainer.

6.Design and implement a comprehensive gang strategy

How many years have we had a “gang strategy”? I remember Jack Owens talking about gang problems when we implemented “Jump and Grab” in 1988. The SCSO doesn’t have a “gang” unit. They have a gang club. Luttrell has gutted the dept so that there are only 6 officers in the “club”. The MPD will have to deal with this issue alone.

7.Sustain and expand student safety initiatives in public school systems

This does nothing new.

8.Implement mentoring-based truancy reduction program

What does this mean? Can we be more abstract? How do you mentor someone into becoming a responsible citizen, when they go home to an apartment where they live with their grandmother, and their mother is selling crack or herself on the side? One major problem with crime in this county is the single “parent” family. Young boys need father figures and discipline. These kids don’t get it at “home.” I don’t have a ready answer on this issue. I admit it is a tough one. What do we do about this problem?

9.Launch the JustCare 180 degree program to “turnaround” youth charged with unruly
and delinquent offenses

I’m sorry. When I see things like this item, it bothers me. Show me this has worked before I will buy into it. Google shows this is another Federally funded program. In other words - same (show me tha money)

10.Expand juvenile offender re-entry programs

More of the same (show me tha money)

11.Expand and coordinate adult offender re-entry programs

More of the same (show me tha money)

12.Implement proactive, coordinated “problem properties” system

This is a good program. I first experienced other agencies doing this in 1988 when I attended a drug task force conference in Miami, FL . Other jurisdictions have been doing this for decades with great success. My partner and I wrote this up as a plan in 1988. I guess they just found the papers.

13.Build communication campaign that promotes tough consequences for crime

I think this means use federal funds to purchase billboards and run ads on television late at night telling people to play nice or else. I’m sorry, but I think word of mouth from the convicts is the best advertising. The word is out about gun crimes because the thugs understand. They understand because they’ve seen or heard that one of their buds is doing hard time because of it. You might say, “we don’t need no stinkin billboards”. I know the politicians want to be able to see their names on the billboards, so this is really number 1 in the plan.

14.Implement coordinated domestic violence initiative

How about some billboards and tv spots that say – Don’t hit other people! (this message brought to you by (rotate the politician’s name) because he/she really cares about you!


15.Implement “Operation Safe Surrender”

Haha, sorry I just can’t stop laughing at this one. Touchy-Feely again. This is a program that asks the felony fugitives to please turn themselves in “in a non threatening way”. I’m sorry, I just spent too many years chasing these thugs and I have a different perspective. Who thinks these folks can’t turn themselves in to the police, deputies, ministers, or anyone else right now? It happens all the time. I get calls all the time with people telling me they are going to turn someone in. They just want to know how much the bond is, or if there is going to be a bond. Yep, this is another one of those (show me tha money) programs.

Here's an excerpt from the US Marshall's website:
Fugitive Safe Surrender is a unique, creative, and highly successful, initiative that encourages persons wanted for non-violent felony or misdemeanor crimes to voluntarily surrender to the law in a faith-based or other neutral setting. Managed by the United States Marshals Service as a community re-entry program for wanted non-violent offenders, Fugitive Safe Surrender offers individuals with felony and misdemeanor warrants the ability to turn themselves in to law enforcement and have their cases adjudicated in a safe and non-violent environment. The goal of Fugitive Safe Surrender is to reduce the risk to law enforcement officers who pursue fugitives, to the neighborhoods in which they hide, and to the fugitives themselves. Authorized by Congress in July 2006, Fugitive Safe Surrender is believed to be the first program of its kind in the nation.


I have some ideas that I plan to send to the MPD Police Director that I believe will help in the apprehension of these criminals, but we still have the problem of the judges and corrections letting these people out.

OK, Here's the Plan

Joe (Backroom) Republican is talking with his cronies . . .

First we float an idea of building a 200 million dollar jail (which if built would cost 300 million). When people are shocked by that, we bring back the privatization issue. We can sell it by telling people it will be much better and we can actually make money, which can be used to retire the debt(I know we aren't going to retire the 2 billion dollar debt with 10 million, but work with me). Of course, we keep Aramark/Servicemaster in the loop on food purchases, but we also bring CCA into the picture. You know several of the local guys have lots of stock in them.

(Fellow crook, er crony)
Well, how do we pull this off? There are more democrats on the county commission than republicans and they have been against privatization. Maybe if we get a republican commissioner to offer them something, like say a Juvenile court judgeship, they will work a trade-off?

Hmmm, sounds like gravy to me. . . .

Finding Information on Criminals in Shelby County

New Shelby County Clerk's JSSI Website

A new JSSI website is finally up. It has a different look and when doing a name search the user can now even enter the last name, then tab down to the first name field. That used to throw the cursor into the url of the webpage. Of course, all JSSI searches are supposed to convert the names to upper case and it will, if you tab out of the first name field. But, if you just hit enter, and you entered the first name in lowercase, you won't get the expected results because they are relying on all case conversion to be done on the front end.AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH.

I don't understand why it has to be so difficult, but it apparently is. Whoever designed this website apparently doesn't use it. Wouldn't it be nice if you had a webpage where you could do a name search, which would list all the hits in a single page? That page could have the booking numbers hyperlined to the cases and the RNI numbers linked to a report on ALL arrest/booking/indictment data. It seems to me, once you have an RNI number(the number that is linked to the arrestee's fingerprints) the program should collect all the data from BOTH clerks. It doesn't though. You still have to go to the General Sessions Clerk's piece of the puzzle and then to the Criminal Court Clerk's piece.

Another little "problem" is the fact that once you do a General Sessions NAME SEARCH, and it returns a webpage with booking numbers, you can click on any of those booking numbers and you'll get the same result. You have to go all the way back and rerun the query on the name again, and make sure you don't pick the same booking number. Yep, you guessed it - AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH.

Memphis Home Defense Tool?

Actually, it's a machine gun for use on the DMZ between North and South Korea, but I can see some application locally!

Juvenile Judge Responses

I got several responses to my email from commissioners today:

David Lillard and Mike Ritz emailed they voted against it.

Deidre Malone called and tried to explain why she is supporting/sponsoring the addition of a judgeship.

Wyatt Bunker called and said he was trying his best to hold the line on spending and he doesn't see the need to add another judge. He also said if we add a referee, the county only has to pay about 25% of the cost because the feds will pick up the rest.

Here's J W Gibson's reply via email to me:
================================================================
Thank you for your comments and I appreciate you keeping an eye on the actions we as elected officials take. We are about to being a series on public meeting dealing with this issue. I would like to personally invite you come listen and speak on this very important issue.

J.W. Gibson, II
================================================================

After hearing Wyatt's comments, it makes a lot more sense to add a couple of referees and let the federal govt. pay most of the cost. This would have the greatest impact on the backlog. This and if they were to make them work a full eight hours.

Are Gangs a Problem or Not?

Today's Commercial Appeal has a story about a consultant giving a talk in Desoto County. The topic was gangs. He said some things that should have been said here in Shelby County two years ago, maybe longer. I seem to remember someone saying we don't have a big drug or gang problem in the county. That statement was about a year before Millington PD busted 25 kids for selling drugs in a county school.

From the CA article:
"Right now, right across the state line, Memphis City Schools are out of control, totally out of control," said Jason Farmer, former victim-witness coordinator for Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Bill Gibbons' office.
He said the situation is similar in Shelby County Schools.

Farmer is now a consultant with the National Gang Crime Research Center and substitutes at Southaven High School on his off days.

Farmer and Jimmy Chambers, an anti-gangs investigator in Gibbons' office, made a presentation on gangs at a DeSoto school board meeting last week. Education Supt. Milton Kuykendall said he asked that the presentation be made to inform school board members.

Chambers described the widespread presence of gang members in Memphis and Shelby County and his experiences in dealing with them.

Farmer said he believes a "huge gang fight" involving gunfire may break out "inside an enclosed situation in one of the (Memphis or Shelby County) schools in a gymnasium or a football game."

In addition to danger from gunfire, many students and others could be trampled in the "madness" that would occur during such an event, he said.

Farmer, who said gangs are in suburban as well as poor, inner-city areas, said DeSoto County now stands where Memphis and Shelby County stood about 10 years ago.

================================================================

It seems to me Desoto County had better nip this in the bud, before the taxpayers there have to start looking toward Marshall County. The MCS and SCS spokespersons responded to the above by saying everything is pretty much under control. Either Desoto will deal with it now, or later. This problem will not just go away - on it's own.

Risking it All - For U.S.

I never served in the military, as I joined the Sheriff's Office when I was just 21. I guess I've always thought of cops as the continental army and the military as the ones who prosecute the wars in other countries. Anyway, I think most cops feel somewhat of a kinship to the military, in that we are attempting to protect and so are they. I came across this video of the military in Iraq with an audio from Josh Groban and I thought it was excellent.





You Raise Me Up

click to enlarge

Memphis is a great place to .... well, it's got Graceland and it's close to the casinos in Tunica if you like to give your money away, and there's a big river and .... Now Memphis is being immortalized on the web. You can proudly display what happened when you visited Memphis.