Crime in our city is increasing; in the last seven days, there have been more shootings in Foster Heights, South 9th Street, and Parkview Apartments.
As usual, city officials have accepted shootings, murders, and other violent crimes as normal for certain sections of Monroe, and they rarely get city attention beyond routine police investigations.
When someone is shot or killed and the city adopts a “just another day in the hood” attitude, there will be more acts of violence because loss of life or property is not really considered a big deal.
There is a package of responses that the city can do, among them is to let the victims of crimes know that their case has not been swept under the rug and is being taken seriously.
Other areas have implemented victim notification systems to keep crime victims informed about the status of their case and the offender’s custody status.
These systems are designed to provide victims with timely and accurate information, as well as to protect their safety and rights.
Here’s how a Monroe system could work:
–The police chief himself meets with families of victims of murders or attempted murders and gives assurances that their cases are important.
–The victim or victim’s family is enrolled in a notification system coordinated through the prosecutor’s office, the district attorney’s office, or any victim service agencies that are available, including a possible website or app.
–Once registered, victims receive updates on the progress of their cases, including information about court hearings, plea bargains, and sentencing.
–Victims are notified of the status of offenders, including changes in the offender’s custody status, such as release from jail or prison, escape, or transfer to another facility.
–In addition, the city can network with local clergy and professionals to provide counseling for victim families, especially children, in the aftermath of murders. This is important because some murders and acts of violence are reactions to previous murders and acts of violence.
These suggestions won’t stop murders or acts of violence, but they will elevate them to priority status in the eyes of city government, in which “every life matters.”
However, as of yet, the city has made no attempt to address the crime problem.
Its response is to hire more police officers, arrest more black people, and have more raids, but that does little to address the underlying causes of the problem, which is “Nobody cares if one poor black person kills another poor black person.”
That’s the wisdom of the street, and until that changes, the violence will continue to escalate.
City leaders must make it known, not through email but through personal involvement, that every life matters in Monroe.
