Pubdate: Mon, 09 Jan 2006
Source: News Journal (DE)
Copyright: 2006 The News Journal
Contact: http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/opinion/index.html
Website: http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/822
Author: Adam Taylor and Terri Sanginiti
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

SLAYINGS DROP IN CITY, BUT STILL TAKE TOLL

WILMINGTON -- At the 12-12 Club on the corner of 27th and Washington 
streets, relatives of murder victims and others exposed to the 
violence on Wilmington's streets meet each week to commiserate and to cry.

A red rose is placed on each chair, arranged in a circle, before the 
group sits down to talk about how long to keep a dead family member's 
room the same, when to throw out their clothes, how often to go to 
the cemetery.

Jackie Latson, whose son Hakim Crawford died in 2004, recently began 
attending meetings. People who have not lost loved ones to violence, 
she said, have grown tired of hearing her talk about Hakim's murder. 
"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that there's no such thing 
as closure."

Violent crime, along with a seemingly perpetual financial crunch 
faced by the government, remain dark clouds on the city's otherwise 
bright horizon.

Major new construction projects, symbols of confidence in any city's 
future, abound throughout downtown and along the Christina River.

"There are more cranes in the air at the same time than anytime in 
the city's history," said Rob Buccini, a developer responsible for 
four of the projects. "Wilmington is definitely the hottest market in 
the suburban Philadelphia region right now."

But the positive influences of economic expansion have yet to 
dramatically affect the course of violent crime. In 2005 homicides 
and shootings were down slightly in Delaware's largest city, but 
criminal mayhem is still causing enough bloodshed to temper city 
officials' reaction to the numbers.

And many residents said they are as scared now as they were in a very 
bloody 2004, especially after an ominous start to the new year. Just 
eight hours into 2006, Mayor James M. Baker's vehicle was T-boned by 
a speeding, stolen vehicle driven by a man who may have been smoking 
crack cocaine. Both cars were totaled. Tuesday, two people were shot 
an hour apart in separate incidents. Thursday, an armed 13-year-old 
was busted for selling heroin.

"It's insane what's going on in Wilmington right now," Cool Springs 
resident Kevin Melloy said.

Even in the face of declining crime rates, people's perceptions of 
how dangerous Wilmington is can make it harder to fill all those 
office towers and garages, said resident and landlord Dave Giesecke, 36.

"Low interest rates allowed would-be quality tenants to buy their own 
homes, and MBNA layoffs will make good tenants even harder to find," 
he said. "Now that interest rates are rising, it's harder to buy, so 
Wilmington being a nice and safe place would be the only thing that 
would keep me here. But it's not, so maybe I should cash out before I 
get shot, my car gets stolen or I get run down by a crackhead."

Some Neighbor Cities Struggling

Cities in the region and nationwide are struggling with violence. In 
2005, the murder rate increased from the year before in Trenton and 
Philadelphia. Homicides dropped in Camden, N.J., Baltimore and Chester, Pa.

After a particularly bloody 2004, Wilmington leaders reacted in an 
effort to make 2005 and beyond less violent.

The police permanently installed its summer deployment plan in March, 
which includes putting more officers on vehicle patrols and tweaking 
shifts to coincide with peak drug-sale times. Year-end statistics are 
not yet available, but major crimes dropped only 5 percent from March 
through September, compared with 2004. At the time, Baker called the 
results a disappointment.

So today, the police department will be instituting a plan that calls 
for the number of community police officers to expand from 19 to 24. 
Police Chief Michael Szczerba said the community officers mostly stay 
in their assigned neighborhoods.

Some City Council members say there should be 40 community officers.

Despite the changes Baker made, he has been critical of residents, 
council members and news reporters who have asked him about police 
deployment and slight changes in crime statistics.

The mayor said that it doesn't matter what kind of deployment 
practices the department uses for its 294 officers. Council members 
have said that the increased motorized patrols don't mean anything if 
the officers rarely get out of their cars, as some residents claim.

Szczerba has said the officers conduct "park-and-walk" details, but 
was unable to say how often at a recent council meeting.

"How many of those council members have ever managed anything in 
their lives? Not many," Baker said. "Yet they will sit in committees 
and tell engineers, fire chiefs and police chiefs how they should be 
operating."

Baker said hiring dozens of additional officers would help much 
better. But the city cannot afford to do so, because the higher taxes 
necessary to pay their salaries would drive middle-class residents 
from the city.

But even a bigger force wouldn't necessarily deter crime much, 
particularly homicides, city officials say. Police Inspector Martin 
Donahue recently told the council that two shootings took place last 
year very close to vehicle safety checkpoints -- where there were 
dozens of uniformed officers.

"With some of these crimes, an officer on every corner wouldn't 
help," city Communications Director John Rago said.

At the same time, Wilmington's leaders say they are heartened by any 
favorable statistic, especially when some other urban areas are 
experiencing increased crime.

"We would never point to these decreases as any kind of success," 
Rago said. "But the thing we like is that, with everything we see 
going on in cities around us, we've got to be doing something right 
to hold these numbers from becoming astronomical."

Other Initiatives Begun

Baker has long maintained that the city can't arrest its way out of 
its crime problem. That's why other initiatives were hatched after 
the near-record number of shootings in 2004.

Very simply, the mayor believes that crime is caused by criminal 
behavior. What causes the behavior, however, is complex, so he 
created the Wilmington HOPE Commission last year to look at how 
social service, education, recreation and faith-based and cultural 
programs are working now, and investigate whether they could be improved.

The plan, due in March, will examine the root causes of violent 
behavior, and try to find ways to change offenders' attitudes.

The police department has partnered with state social service and 
child-welfare officials to create a local Child Development Community 
Policing Project. The program, launched in New Haven, Conn., in 1991, 
forms partnerships between police departments, mental health 
professionals and community groups.

The focus is on trying to heal wounds caused by exposure to violence.

A group of religious leaders formed the Wilmington Interfaith 
Initiative last year. They are working on a plan that includes young, 
streetwise "collaborators" who will counsel students and inmates 
about to re-enter the city, "trackers" who will respond to shooting 
scenes to speak with family and witnesses, and trained "ambassadors" 
who will intervene with gun-toting drug dealers on street corners.

Baker said these initiatives will have more of an impact over the 
long term than any policing strategy.

"I don't know why people run around like scared rabbits all the 
time," he said. "Cliches and simplistic answers aren't going to do 
it. The residents have got to fight to save this city."

The mayor's comments have divided many segments of the community at a 
time when law-abiding people must unite, some say.

Herman Holloway Jr., who heads a small nonprofit social service 
agency in Southbridge, said he was outraged by Baker's recent comments.

"He won't take his head out of the sand, although part of me thinks 
if you put him on a lie detector he'd be embarrassed by his police 
department's performance," he said. "Meanwhile, he makes asinine 
comments with his arrogant attitude that embarrass the whole city 
instead of addressing the issues."

Kevin Melloy was a friend of Rudy Cross, the last person killed in 
Wilmington in 2005. The 44-year-old self-employed handyman was shot 
last month outside a bar at Fifth and Adams streets.

Thursday night, Cross' friends held a vigil for him at Melloy's cafe, 
Thunders, at Seventh and Harrison streets. They walked to Baker's 
apartment to hold a short, silent protest.

"We don't want to be called dumb or told that we don't know what 
we're talking about," he said. "He has to be able to listen to 
people. Just because he's the mayor doesn't mean he knows all."

Councilman Kevin F. Kelley Sr., a former Baker supporter, said he is 
tired of being criticized by the mayor.

"His recent comments just show how out of touch he is with the 
reality of what is going on in the city of Wilmington," he said.

Pain Continues

Often lost in the debate is how much pain is inflicted on the 
community by the violence.

Marilyn Garcia attends the victims support group at the 12-12 Club.

In September 2003, she was a bystander who was shot in the thigh when 
city police shot and killed Harry Smith III, 25, of Bear.

Smith led police on a 16-block chase in a stolen police cruiser 
following an attempted carjacking. Police were cleared of any 
wrongdoing by city and state probes.

Garcia attends the group because she is still in pain, walks with a 
cane and can no longer enjoy her hobbies.

"I used to love to dance and walk through the city," she said. 
"Sometimes I get scared to leave my house, because I'm reminded of 
what happened."

Police have made arrests or issued warrants for suspects in nine of 
last year's 17 homicides, Sgt. William Wells said.

Getting information from the public is often hard for police in Wilmington.

Holland Ralston Jr., father of murder victim Holland Brown, said he 
believes people with clues to his son's shooting death 11 months ago 
are afraid to come forward to talk with detectives.

"We see so much happening that people just don't want to get involved 
because of that stigma of not being labeled a snitch," Ralston said. 
"My son's dead. It's not going to bring him back."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman