Mayor, chief speak about crime

QUINCY - Quincy's mayor and police chief spoke about plans to deal with crime in the city.

Mayor Jim Hemberry and Chief Richard Ackerman spoke about the issues during a recent town hall meeting about quality of life in the city.

"You've got a five-star department," Ackerman said. "I'm very proud of the officers that are working in Quincy. They've all been hired and selected through a very rigorous process."

He said the first step in community-oriented policing is creating partnerships between the police, other parts of the city government, community members, businesses and the media.

The second part of community-oriented policing is "organizational transformation," Ackerman said. This involves the police department becoming proactive with how it deals with issues in the community.

"The third big issue is management of the department," he said. "I have a captain. I have two sergeants that are working very, very hard to make sure we operate efficiently as a police department. The officers working for us are doing the same thing."

Ackerman plans to divide the police force into two groups, with each group developing relationships with community members, businesses and organizations in a side of the city.

"Those officers will still respond all over the city," he said. "They aren't going to limited to just one side of the city."

Ackerman expects, as the officers develop the relationships, people will know who the officers are and will be able to contact them with non-emergency issues, he said.

"All of our officers have a city-issued cellphone, so if you have a non-emergency, you'll have maybe a contact name. You will have a face to the name. You'll have a phone number to call and say, 'I have this little problem going on,'" he said.

The process will take time to implement, he said.

The chief also spoke about gang issues in Quincy, saying criminal gangs aren't new, but they have expanded from urban areas to rural areas.

"Quincy is not unique. It's happening all across the country," Ackerman said. "When a gang does arrive, or becomes involved in a community, if you will, it becomes a very labor intensive situation for law enforcement, for the city government and very labor intensive for a lot of people to deal with these gang issues."

The gangs have regional, national and international ties, he said, adding the community needs to focus on local youth. The community can deal with youth by using intervention, prevention and enforcement.

"We get involved in enforcement. We're also very involved in the other two, intervention and prevention. If I have the opportunity to talk to a 12-year-old or a 14-year-old, and somehow myself, or my officers, get this young man to go in a different direction, we've saved one person."

He continued, saying gangs are a dead-end path, and the longer people stay in gangs, the fewer opportunities they have. At some point, gang members might try to become more responsible.

"By the time this occurs, they're so far down that dead-end path, they're locked into a very difficult life ahead of them," he said. "That's why it's important for these three issues, for the entire community, not just the police department, to get involved in."

Parents and educators are key elements in steering children away from gangs, Ackerman said; adding they see the children more often than anyone else.

"Honestly, talk is very important," he said. "Talk to the child, find out what's going on. Explain to them about the negative and difficult path that they have chosen, about wise choices."

He said community members can contact government agencies, including the police department, for ideas on how to lead children away from gangs.

"There are classes in town, that have been put on in the past and will be put on in the future, to educate parents on identifying gang issues or helping you with your young people, if you suspect them being involved in gangs," Ackerman said.

He also recommended involving religious leaders and getting children involved in summer programs, he said.

Hemberry spoke about the mayor's commission on crime. He wants it to include members from the police department, the fire district, the city council, the hospital district, school district, business people, students, religious leaders and neighborhood representatives.

"The idea is to talk about ways we can help deal with the crime and violence issues in our community," he said. "When I say 'we,' I mean the residents. I live in Quincy too ... We as citizens are going to have to help if we want to get this problem taken care of."

The mayor explained he wants to divide the city into eight areas, and have a neighborhood representative from each area. The members are going to be responsible for starting block watches in their areas.

"So they'll meet with block watch commanders. The block watch commanders will meet with residents in their community and then the information will flow back and forth," he said. "If you think about that, that means every single person in the city of Quincy will have the opportunity to participate in the program."

The city plans to start sending letters to residents asking them to volunteer for a position soon, he said; adding the neighborhood representatives will have a lot of work to do.

"But, if you're serious about doing something to improve what is going on, or to improve your quality of life here in the city of Quincy, then think about it long and hard and we sure could use your support," Hemberry said.

Ackerman lauded the commission, saying it will be a big step in the right direction for the community.