Mayor talks multi-faceted approach at NAACP

Mayor Teresa Tomlinson met with a small group of community activists Monday as part of a Moral Monday campaign that aims to address socioeconomic inequities in Columbus.

The meeting, led by members of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was held at the Citizen Service Center. It focused on ways to prevent crime and improve police relations with the community.

Columbus police officials in attendance included Maj. Wanna Baker-Wright, of the department's Bureau of Administrative Services; Cpl. Randy Brown, of the Crime Prevention Unit; and Sgt. Roderick Graham, who oversees intelligent policing. Seth Brown, the city's crime prevention director, and Geniece Granville, chair of the Public Safety Advisory Commission, were also present.

The mayor opened the discussion by attempting to dispel what she described as "myths in the community."

"A lot of people think that enforcement is the end-all, be-all and that if all we had was maximum enforcement then there would be no crime, and that's certainly not true," she said. "There are ample studies and information from communities where there is an over-abundance of resources. You can even go so far as looking at other countries that have different governmental make-ups and more militaristic type government authorities and you'll certainly find crime there."

The solution to crime is a balanced approach that combines law enforcement with the social aspects of crime, the mayor continued. And one major factor is poverty.

"People that feel connected tend to commit less crimes," she said. "They feel they're important in the community, people care about them and, therefore, they're less likely to commit an offense that puts themselves in jeopardy because they consider their lives to have great value and their future to have great value and promise.

"I hope we put in place efforts that continue way after my time," she said. "I think that's the role of a mayor, frankly. City Council works from year to year, as any legislature would. And it's the mayor's job to be looking down 10, 20, 30 years down the road and planting seeds and policies today that will hopefully make a big difference."

Tomlinson said the city is addressing the problem through programs like the Nehemiah Project, which is a think-tank made up of local clergy and representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and city officials to generate out-of-the-box ideas about how to reduce crime and develop a sense of community.

She presented the group with crime statistics for the first quarter of 2015.

Part-1 crimes are down 26 percent from last quarter with significant improvements in six of seven categories, according to the information provided. Homicide was down 50 percent, burglary 44 percent, robbery down 24 percent, larceny down 20 percent, motor vehicle theft down 18 percent and aggravated assault down 5 percent. Rape remained the same.

The mayor encouraged members of the group to get involved, and report any complaints about police conduct and procedures through the city's website or the Public Safety Advisory Commission, which she said is an under-utilized resource in the community. Granville said the commissions next meeting will be held Aug. 17, 6 p.m., at the Public Safety Building, and invited everyone to attend.

The Rev. Richard Jessie, an NAACP representative, said people in the community have not been going to the Public Safety Advisory Commission because they believe it lacks authority. Some in the community have called for the commission to have subpoena power, but the mayor said a State Supreme Court case out of Atlanta has made it plain that only elected officials and people in official positions have subpoena power because they are the ones answerable to the citizens.

Tomlinson said another myth is that the city is clueless about gangs operating in the community.

She said a gang taskforce was disbanded in the 1990s and has been replaced by intelligence policing. She said it's important to break the anti-snitching code that makes it difficult for police to solve criminal cases.

Tonza Thomas, NAACP president, thanked the mayor for meeting with the group. She said the organization has been meeting with gang members every Sunday to address the crime problem.

"We're doing itty, bitty bits and pieces so that we can bring this crime issue to a halt," Thomas said. "And if we've got to get out there and talk on the phone and create a prevention hotline for them to call us in the middle of the night because somebody's going to kick in somebody's door, then I think that's what we should do. Because not a lot of organizations are opening up the doors to those people, and I call myself a part of those people because I came from those same neighborhoods."

Alva James-Johnson, 706-571-8521. Reach her on Facebook at AlvaJamesJohnsonLedger

This story was originally published August 3, 2015 at 10:22 PM with the headline "Mayor talks multi-faceted approach at NAACP ."