March 24, 2006 To: All SOS Members

Our material and ideas are always a compilation of the feedback from the community. Today, we’d like to give you a sample of the emails that you have been sending, some with ideas, some with feedback, and some with stories on how crime has affected peoples’ lives.

Please take the time to read through this patchwork email and get a feel for the responses of your peers and neighbors. If you want to read more, visit our website at www.saveoursavannah.com and read through the comments sections. As always, send any comments to martinsullivan@saveoursavannah.com.

Have a safe weekend

Martin Sullivan

In view of the fact that it takes 7 or more months to train police officers, why can’t the city develop incentives to attract qualified police officers from other cities and areas to staff our understaffed Police Department? They come up with money for anything else they want and this is a serious need in our community.

The crime in Savannah is shameful. It was a problem and has been a problem according to people who have lived in Savannah for the last 10 years. Last August, as I was moving into my house on 52nd Street, some idiot drove up to my car, broke the window on the passenger side, never got out of his car, took my purse with $300 in it, plus a cell phone and credit cards… What made me the angriest was the fact that they (the police department) blamed me…said my purse shouldn’t have been on the front seat. My car was locked. It was my car. It was my purse. They were blaming the victim. And I am still as mad as hell.

Greenberg took charge in Charleston, but it was pretty clear to me that he had to have administrative help. The problem with so many issues in Savannah (on many fronts) is there’s too much talk – too little action. Any time we get a take-charge person in anything, schools, county commission, etc., the naysayers and petty bickering among our elected officials prevents innovative activity!

Hard to believe that we have not learned from the hurricanes and everything else that government was suppose to solve that we cannot wait until more problems happen, and then react…

Would it be possible for someone to say, “The buck stops here,” that there are some strong measures that are going to be taken, that the police will want to work in Savannah as we offer the best jobs around and have the best morale? Could we just try some of those ideas from Greenberg? I have a feeling he never sat around and studied the problem, but just implemented plans that made the criminals miserable and the city of Charleston safe.

Here is a small civic lesson for the group. Example: the Executive branch is in charge of pardons and parole, not the judicial system. The legislature finances and builds penitentiary, not the judicial system. Presently, the Chatham county jail is housing approximately 1500 inmates with a capacity of 1100. The State is not picking up the convicted felons because they don’t have room to house them therefore the counties are forced to keep them and use precious space. Our Governor and legislature will not allocate the funds. Look at the root of the problem. We need our group to analyze the problems and suggest short-term and long-term solutions.

There are a number of ways our police could make their objections to the pending parole of a convict heard: · They could request that the DA copy them on all parole notifications. · They could either alone, or with the DA’s office, submit their objections in writing to the parole board. · They could work with victims to, a) encourage them to request notification of pending parole, and, b) assist those victims that object to parole by helping them write to the parole board. Further, they could also track the parole results for all inmates they have arrested. If they observe that parole is being granted too often or too early, they could, a) notify the press of their concerns, b) notify the parole board, c) notify our state legislative delegation. We need our police and city to start asking “why not”, instead of saying, “we can’t”.

Some of the essential background that I think the new Police Chief should have is as follows: - A track record of having dramatically reduced the crime rate in a fairly large municipality and the ability to express the exact steps used in the process. - An in-depth knowledge of the latest technological advances in police use of computers to immediately record their activities and communicate same to the rest of the department. - An in-depth knowledge of the latest in investigative procedures to include forensic techniques, Livescan, biometrics, digital photography, infra-red photography, the surreptitious use of cameras and other recording equipment, the use of Alternative Light Sources, etc.

I have noted that most crimes committed in this community are between the ages of 16 to 25. The earlier we get these kids intervention & prevention the less crimes will be committed. I truly think that is key. I still believe a Juvenile Assessment Center pilot in Chatham is key for the juvenile crime.

If I may, I would hope that as progress is made with the issues of crime, that the SOS membership would turn it’s attention to the state of education in this county with the understanding that there exist many relationships between the quality of life within a community and the level of education that is received by the citizens of that community. Our system of public school education in this community is, and has been for some time, far behind the level for a community of this size. This situation has a direct impact on the amount of crime that transpires within the borders of this community. There are many ties between a high crime rate and a poor public education system. Maybe at some point, the same public emphasis can be placed on our educational programs that have been directed towards crime. Change shall not occur until the citizens of this community require changes be made.

It is time we all stopped burying our heads in the sand and started taking ownership of our community before we don’t have a community left.

I don’t know that anyone has surveyed the police department itself on their ideas, but that might be a worthwhile use of a few dollars. These folks are, of course, the closest to the problem and, according to “continuous quality improvement” theory, are the ones who may offer some of the best insights for solutions…particularly for short term solutions. I would listen to them but want to use the right instrument to do so. One of the universities could probably structure a legitimate survey.

Am I wrong to think that Savannah needs assistance at the STATE LEVEL? What are our local Judges doing to help? Can we afford to keep doing business the way we always have? What do the citizens of Savannah need to do to DEMAND better representation at the state level? I would like to live long enough to see the bad guys think twice about ANY crime in Savannah. The Bad Guys don’t care how we feel, what we write, when we meet, or what we decide to do. They are just going to keep on doing what they do until we can increase the police force, enforce tougher sentences, and let them know that they are going to wish they were not trying to “do business” in Savannah.