Potter Longway group discusses crime
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- By Kate Cole
- Wednesday, June 20, 2012
- Hits: 688
Several members complained of lack of police response, gunshots and two recent arsons at the Potter Longway Neighborhood Association meeting June 18 which led to a general discussion about Flint's crime problem.
President Chris Zuwala explained that the state police are using hot spot technology to locate high crime areas and have been successful in getting guns off the street.
He said he is part of a neighborhood association group, President's Roll Call, where representatives from across the city meet monthly to work on high-crime issues. The three top issues the group will be working on are guns, party stores and blight.
The group discussed the chronic overcrowding of the county jail.
"When you open the front door of the county jail to let someone in you have to let someone out the backdoor," Council Josh Freeman (Ward 4) said.
He said he favors outsourcing prisoners using other municipal's jails because it is less expensive than maintaining a local jail.
Zuwala said that Sheriff Robert J. Pickell said at the Mott Park Neighborhood Association June 4 meeting he was in favor of having laid off police officers run the city jail, but the emergency manager turned his request down in favor of privatizing the jail operation.
Zuwala commented on the number of people in the area carrying legal weapons.
"I think we need to be careful. Guns are not the answer to fighting crime," he said.
Zuwala discussed getting nonprofit status.
He told members he filed a DBA using the group's official name to distinguish the new organization from the former crime watch. He opened a new bank account with a balance of $495 in checking and $5 in savings. The original crime watch account remains with a $50 balance.
Jill Creech Bauer, candidate for the 68th District Court, told the group why she should be elected.
"My goal, if elected, is to begin an adult literacy program for offenders," Bauer said.
She believes local crime is related to lack of opportunity and having only negative choices. Positive choices would reduce the number of people in prison.
"Incarceration is not the answer. We're spending a ton of money on jails and prisons. We need to look for higher quality way of life for offenders. I see probation as an opportunity to make people change their lives in a positive manner," Bauer said.
Bauer said that the high number of drug offenses is a sign of hopelessness — the result of lack of opportunity. She cited Flint's unemployment rate as being as high as 25 percent.
"People are bored, they have nothing to do," Bauer explained.
She has lived most of her life in Flint, has a bachelor's degree from UM-Ann Arbor and a master's from the University of Indiana. She is a practicing attorney specializing in disadvantaged clients, child welfare and bankruptcy. She also handles criminal cases.
Zuwala mentioned the idea of opening up Leith Avenue for traffic through the former Buick City.
"This idea came from the master planning group and I'd like to go on record saying it's a bad idea," Zuwala said.
The group agreed and said they would put that and other concerns into a platform statement for the master planning group to consider.
Freeman also reported on the new garbage charge of $145 yearly saying that the three mills on citizen's tax bills will be removed.
"With property values declining, the city is moving to charging residents for garbage pickup. That will also include leaf pick-up in the fall and next year recycling," Freeman added. "The charge should be about $12 a month."
The group will meet next at 7 p.m. July 16 at Eastwood United Methodist Church, 3312 Whittier St.
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