In Greenville last year, there were 31 homicides. It’s an ignominious record and one the current Greenville Police Chief Marcus Turner hopes to never repeat.
Those numbers, when compared to other but larger cities throughout the nation, put Greenville on top of a very bad list.
In 2021, St. Louis, Missouri, led the nation with a homicide rate of 87.2 per 100,000 residents. In Greenville, the rate would be about 92 per 100,000 residents for 2021. Greenville had three less murders than Compton, California; one less than Omaha, Nebraska; and three more than Syracuse, New York. All of these cities have at least 100,000 residents and Omaha has almost 500,000.
At just past the halfway point of the year, there have been just short of a dozen murders in the city so far.
In statistics supplied by the police department taken from their E-Force Data System, calls in all categories of crime have fallen dramatically from the period of October 2020 — May 2021 when compared to October 2021 — May 2022. Turner took over the department in September 2021.
There were 2,550 calls for disturbances in the prior period compared to 956 calls in the 2022 period.
There were 1,091 calls for shots fired in the prior period compared to 632 calls in the 2022 period.
That’s a drastic difference than the prior year. Other categories show a similar drop.
In that time the city has seen a change in leadership at the police department, pay raises for its officers and the continuing installation of police-monitored video surveillance of high-crime areas.
Turner said two of those factors have had a direct impact on the police force’s ability to fight crime and he is working hard on a third factor — community involvement.
Turner said a police force that is not cooperating with the community will directly result in a crime-ridden community.
And that’s what Greenville is and something Turner wants to change.
He said the previous administration had lost sight of being involved with the community it serves, but the police cannot expect the community to come to them.
“We have to have a relationship with the community,” he said. “It is our responsibility to go to them.”
While community outreach is part of Turner’s plan, he’s also seeing a direct result from cameras that have been installed in high activity areas in Greenville.
One example of a high activity area is the Delta One Stop on Main Street. Turner said the department would field multiple calls a day for disturbances there, but with the installation of the camera, police can actively watch the parking lot and know when a presence is needed.
Turner said a total of about seven more cameras will be installed with four going in soon.
While we know policing is not incumbent on the citizens of Greenville, they can play a larger role than perhaps they are playing now.
Former Greenville Police Chief Marvin Minor spoke to Rotary on Thursday about the Crimestoppers organization he is a part of here in Greenville.
His most memorable statement was about the pile of money the group has in hand.
The organization is funded through a local ordinance that tacks on a fee to each citation written by the police and sheriff’s department.
But, they can’t give the money away.
Last year, the organization only paid out about $3,000 for tips which led to the solving of a crime.
Minor said the community has become reticent to “snitch” on its own members. He said most of the payouts have gone to people who called in a fugitive from another area staying in their neighborhood.
He related the story of a crime in Gamwyn-Wilzin Park last year where a $10,000 reward was offered and not a single call came in. the number for Crimestoppers is 662-378-8477.
“Somebody, other than the guy who did it, knows what happened,” he said. “But they won’t call in.”
Perhaps with Turner’s bent toward reconnecting the police department that had obviously lost its connection with the community, more people will start making those phone calls and Minor can start giving away rewards for tips.
The crime in this community is perhaps its greatest failing, and while we will never stop it all, a community that trusts its police department will do its job can go a long way to rectify what was a terrible situation in the recent past.
And it wouldn’t hurt if a few more people decided to snitch.
Jon Alverson is proud to be publisher and editor of the Delta Democrat-Times. Write to him at jalverson@ddtonline.comor call him at 662-335-1155.
