Chief finalist advises ‘tough’ steps for gangs
The question had been broached a couple of times, but the answers had been focused on other aspects of policing.
Then Tommy May asked Robert Jones, Pine Bluff’s lone police chief candidate, directly about gangs and the drugs and killings that come with them.
“That’s going to require some real commitment from the community,” said May, chairman of the board of Go Forward Pine Bluff and the organizer of the morning’s session with Jones and about 20 business leaders, “Would you give your thoughts on that subject?”
“You definitely have a gang problem,” said Jones, the current police chief in Kingsland, Ga., who has applied for the Pine Bluff job. “You’ve got to take that tagging down and let them know this is not a safe place for them. Let them know that this is Pine Bluff’s property, not theirs.”
Jones was referring to graffiti painted in public places that designates a gang’s turf. Rarely does the subject of gangs get mentioned by Pine Bluff officials, but Jones dug in on the subject, saying that the city doesn’t have the resources to adequately fight its gang problem.
“You need state and federal help,” he said. “There should be task forces set up. You need help from elected officials in the state and in Washington.”
Jones went on to say that the problem would take “tough policing” to beat, adding that one such initiative would be the FBI’s Safe Street task force, which is described on the FBI website as being “designed to allow the Special Agent in Charge of each FBI field division to establish FBI-sponsored, long-term, proactive task forces. These task forces would be focused on violent gangs, crimes of violence, and the apprehen
sion of violent fugitives.”
“We’re going have our hands full,” Jones said. “We are going to have to get down in the ditches and get some help in here.”
The question was one of several that Jones took from the business leaders who had gathered in a conference room at the downtown Simmons Bank building. Jones arrived on Sunday and was given a tour of the city, and then on Monday he had several sessions with city officials, search committee members and the public during which he answered scores of questions on a variety of policing topics.
During Tuesday’s session, Jones was asked why he would leave his Kingsland department for Pine Bluff. To that, he said the possible move involved his religious convictions.
“I look at my job as a calling,” he said. “It’s a religious mission for me. I don’t go anywhere without turning to God in prayer. That is what I feel.”
After praying about the job, Jones said he feels that Pine Bluff is where God wants him.
“This is where I need to be,” he said. “This is what God wants for me.”
Jesse Turner, a community organizer and activist, said Pine Bluff has had serious problems with gun violence, with almost all of the killings over the past several years caused by guns. He then asked Jones if he would implement a “stop and frisk” policy in which people are randomly stopped and searched.
Jones said there were many interpretations of the term but quickly added that he would never stop a resident without cause.
“I’ve never believed in stopping citizens unless you have a constitutional right to do so,” Jones said. “I would never have officers just stop someone. I have to go by the law. I’m not an administrator. I’m just a cop, and I have to uphold the law.”
Turner also asked Jones if he would work toward bringing to Pine Bluff “shot spotter” technology, which Turner has promoted for several years. The devices can pinpoint where shots are being fired.
Jones said that such technology, used alongside cameras, can help authorities make arrests.
“Would I support that? Yes, 100%,” he said.
Jones was asked how the public could help him with officer morale, recruitment and continued training. He said officers need to be told they are appreciated but that low pay was likely the reason the city finds itself bringing on young officers who quickly move away for better paying jobs.
“Law enforcement is expensive,” he said. “We aren’t in the job of making money.”
Jones then spent several minutes talking about ongoing training for officers. He said the state minimum in Georgia is 20 hours of training per year but that he requires his officers do five times that.
“I believe in training, training, training, training,” he said. “I’ve said this before but we don’t rise to the level of our
expertise. We fall to the level of our training.”
“So you would not be for defunding the police?” Turner asked to some laughter.
“I need the money,” Jones said. “I need the money for training.”
Asked about the possibility of cliques existing in the department and how he would establish his own priorities if they do exist, Jones said he doesn’t “get too wrapped up in that.”
“We will set high standards,” he said, “and those who don’t work within those standards and meet those standards will probably be asked to go somewhere else. We aren’t going to lower our standards.”
To the question of how he would measure his own success if he settled in Pine Bluff, Jones said he would seek state and national accreditation to show that the city was using best practices and had a quality police department.
“You have to prove what you are doing for those accreditations,” he said. “You can’t just stand up like I’m doing and talk about it. Those are my goals.” He also said he would like to see partnerships develop and crime rates to drop.
Jimmy Dill, a businessman and chairman of the board of the Urban Renewal Agency, pointed out that Saracen Casino Resort was bringing in significant tax revenue, calling it “manna from heaven.” He said he didn’t want to put Mayor Shirley Washington “on the spot” but suggested that the city should use that money to get pay up for police and fire workers, which is something the city has been discussing for months. Without higher pay for those employees, Pine Bluff would continue to be a “minor league baseball team” where players leave for bigger cities and bigger paychecks, Dill said.
“We need to get them to a place where they can’t leave,” he said.
Jones agreed that higher pay was a key ingredient to stability in a police department.
“You can’t have hard policing and no pay,” he said. “Let’s make this equitable.”
Much was said on both sides to the idea that fixing Pine Bluff’s crime problem, which had five slayings in six days just last week, including that of a 14-year-old girl, would take partnerships among all stakeholders in the community.
“It’s going to take a whole village,” he said. “This is not going to be the Robert Jones show. If you think that, you’re wrong. If you think I walk on water, you’re wrong.”
The comments from several in the group appeared to show support for Jones’ hiring. Ryan Watley, CEO of Go Forward Pine Bluff, made complimentary remarks and then suggested that the search committee vote to hire him as soon as Jones got on his afternoon plane back to Georgia.
“Don’t let him leave,” Dill said.
At one of the meetings on Monday, Washington said the search committee would be making a decision in the next few days on whether to extend an offer to Jones.