OPINION

DANA D. KELLEY: Proactivity on recidivism

The news in Jonesboro on Jan. 7 was even more encouraging than the news on Jan. 2 had been discouraging. After suffering the first and second murders of 2019 on the opening two days of the New Year, local law enforcement took decisive, collaborative action.

That weekend, the Jonesboro Police Department swarmed higher-crime neighborhoods, hauling nearly 50 people to jail and issuing warnings and traffic tickets to more than 100 others. Guns, drugs and paraphernalia were also seized.

The successful anti-crime sweep was an immediate response to the city's murderous New Year violence, but it was also a proactive plan born of months of crime examination, investigation and preparation.

Four days after the large-scale crackdown on criminal activity, the formation of an Organized Criminal Activity Task Force was announced. In a day and age where "senseless" shootings happen far too often, the press conference announcing the task force--the first of its kind in the state--was full of commentary, ideas and conclusions that made exemplary sense.

The basic idea is brilliant in its simplicity. Violent criminals are often repeat offenders, and as such they typically will break a number of minor laws before committing more serious offenses of violence.

If they're on probation or parole, they are prohibited from associating with other felons and from possessing firearms, for example. Why not catch, prosecute and punish them based on those violations before they move on to worse, more damaging and more harmful crimes?

Through analysis of dozens of serious crimes dating back to 2015, 2nd Judicial District Prosecutor Scott Ellington said his office discovered some important patterns regarding mobility, weaponry and criminal fraternity.

It turns out that police in Blytheville or Osceola are often very familiar with suspects and persons of interest and victims in Jonesboro crimes, he said. Correction Department officials often also knew which violators were on probation or parole. Without a central database, however, there was previously no way to connect the dots when criminals in one city hopped in cars and drove to another city to commit crimes.

What the task force does is bring law enforcement from various cities and counties, and state troopers, as well as local and federal prosecutors and parole/probation officers from corrections all together to proactively share information and strategy.

This broad grouping acknowledges and addresses a key reality: Recidivist criminals know the system, and exploit its gaps and weaknesses.

"Crime goes up when the cost to the criminal comes too cheap," U.S. Attorney Cody Hiland said at the press conference. The task force's job, he said, is to make criminality a very expensive prospect.

One good example is felony possession of a firearm, which is prohibited by both state and federal law. Gun-carrying thugs aren't afraid of a state crime conviction, because its mild penalty might only get them a couple months' jail time.

One task-force collaborative objective is to federalize those prosecutions, where a conviction can put an offender in prison for five, 10 or up to 15 years depending on criminal history. That gets a bad guy off the streets, and the more it happens the better. Hiland said his office led the nation last year with an 83 percent increase in the number of federal felony possession firearm charges.

A federal case prosecution issue has historically been what the threshold should be.

"Here's our threshold," he said. "Is he a bad guy in your community?"

Local law enforcement may not have enough evidence to prosecute a suspect for a battery or robbery crime, for instance. But if they catch him with a gun, and charge him federally, they can lock him up long-term.

What blatantly obvious gun control logic! Target illegal guns and throw the punitive federal book at criminals who carry them.

What great reasoning in rounding up wannabe gang-bangers! Gangs, by definition, are criminals who gather and associate with each other, in violation of parole or probation terms. Since persons on probation and parolees have waived their Fourth Amendment rights, they're subject to search and seizure without a warrant.

Task-force collaboration--corrections information proactively shared with police--enables effective sweeps like the one in Jonesboro, and Ellington said nearby cities like Blytheville and Osceola can expect similar activity soon.

Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott called the task force the "next generation" of crime fighting, which might be an understatement.

Chronic recidivism is a constant problem among violent criminals, and operating as islands, local prosecutors and police can't always obtain high-time convictions for criminals with records in other jurisdictions. Coordinating the knowledge and efforts among various law enforcement divisions and jurisdictions is a revolutionary approach that can reduce that crack and others that repeat criminals frequently fall through.

Hopefully this model will spread statewide and beyond. Its successful expansion can put the worst criminals behind bars, and make high-crime communities everywhere safer for everyone.

In an admitted oversimplification, Hiland said there are basically two ways to fight crime. One is to have better people, which the government can't control.

The other is to be tough on crime. This new task-force initiative not only does that, but does it smarter.

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Dana D. Kelley is a freelance writer from Jonesboro.

Editorial on 01/18/2019

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