Consensus on crime will allow city council to make progress

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Over the course of Monday's four-hour City Council meeting, two views of Greenville's crime problem emerged from members.

Council member Calvin Mercer, among others, strongly expressed his desire to see progress made on improving public safety in the downtown district in response to recent violence there. Council members Rose Glover and Max Ray Joyner adamantly expressed their belief that a broader focus should be on a citywide crime problem.

Both are correct, but the city will struggle to make progress if members cannot come to a consensus on their approach. With citizens eager for action, that must be the council's first and most important step in the coming days.

A small fraction of City Council meetings draw large crowds to City Hall. Far fewer see more than two dozen speakers for a public hearing. But those were just two of the many notable items at Monday's council meeting, which featured some of the most contentious debate in recent years.

That passion is important, since the public expects action following the June 30 deaths of two young men in a drive-by shooting as they stood on a Fifth Street sidewalk. Citizens' anger and outrage fueled calls for strong and decisive measures from city leaders, who sought to use Monday's meeting to hear public opinion and discuss strategy.

Yet, it seemed evident from the outset that members are not on the same page about crime.

Glover, who serves some of the city's most persistently troubled neighborhoods in District 2, called for expanding crime prevention efforts in west Greenville and north of the Tar River. She expressed her concern that action to improve downtown would come at the expense of those areas.

Joyner repeatedly cited the need to work with business owners to develop a plan for fighting crime. The District 5 representative opposed taking action on any proposal before hearing from local business, and accused his colleagues of having a clandestine agenda in their drive to act.

Joyner's repeated accusations drew a strong rebuke from Mayor Pat Dunn and stern disapproval from Mercer, who urged the council to advance four ideas from a list of possible actions compiled by city staff in recent weeks.

The downtown situation earned the devoted focus of the District 4 representative and he seemed dismissive of those urging a broader focus on Monday.

The disagreement obscured the fact that the council needs to do all of those things. It needs a plan to improve public safety downtown and reach agreement on the city's nightlife in that district. It must do so in a way that protects business interests, but ensures the financial burden of law enforcement is distributed equitably.

But it must also look at the larger crime issue, particularly the need to invest resources in west Greenville and other locations that struggle to combat violence.

Even modest initiatives, like Glover's desire to see new lighting installed along dangerous streets, could have an immediate impact and should be expedited.

Crime and public safety will remain the city's top issue until demonstrable progress can be made. But that will only happen when council members can reach a workable consensus on the goals that will provide the foundation to act.

Brian Colligan is the editorial page editor of The Daily Reflector. Contact him at 329-9507 or bcolligan@coxnc.com.

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Disgusted citizen

10/14/2009 10:18:18 PM

I agree with Terry. Too much talk and ordinances by city management. Time to take back the streets and patrol the areas in the neighborhoods. Amazing how a 60 year old had the sense to get the license and description to have him arrested for numerous crimes in the area but nothing by the police. Quit sitting on Arlington and Elm to catch drivers 5 miles over the limit, and patrol where the True crime is happening. Totally disgusted as a citizen of 37 years in Gville.

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