Little Rock crime-prevention council presents recommendations to city board

Hiring victim-support staff to aid police is among ideas

FILE — Little Rock City Hall is shown in this 2019 file photo.
FILE — Little Rock City Hall is shown in this 2019 file photo.


An advisory group formed to identify strategies to tamp down violent crime in Little Rock presented its final recommendations to the city's Board of Directors during a meeting on Tuesday.

The HOPE Advisory Council was created earlier this year -- the acronym stands for "Holistic Outreach and Prevention in Every neighborhood" -- as city officials sought to confront the problem of gun violence.

In April, Mayor Frank Scott Jr. named 18 people to the council, including activist Tim Campbell, City Director Ken Richardson of Ward 2, Police Department social worker Mallory Visser and Director Dana Dossett of the Department of Community Programs.

Among other recommendations, members said Little Rock should turn the council into an official city commission on public safety.

As of Monday, there have been 75 homicides reported so far this year in Little Rock, a 27% increase compared with the 59 homicides over the same period last year, according to the Police Department.

Council members recommended that the Police Department add staff to provide information and support to victims and their families with the idea of guiding them during the entirety of the investigative and judicial process. The team might also include mental/behavioral health professionals and representatives of nonprofit organizations or faith-based groups.


Victims' advocates and mental health professionals should be leveraged more often, and officials in the department's 21st Century Policing Division should continue to work to build strong relationships between police and residents, the council said.

Leta Anthony of the HOPE Advisory Council's policy subcommittee suggested that by supporting the healing process, the city can help reduce crime.

"What we're finding out in our community is that a lot of crime is retaliation because that healing process never gets started," Anthony said.

The city should prioritize programs that address parental support in addition to the needs of youth, council members concluded. Those programs could encompass visitation, custody and financial responsibilities, with the idea that healthier family relationships will improve public safety.

City board members should develop crime reduction plans for their respective wards, with the three at-large members contributing to plans for all wards, the council found. City officials should identify resources to implement those plans in each ward, members recommended.

Referring to the importance of housing and what is known as the warranty of habitability, Anthony said, "A lot of our crime happens in old homes and in old areas and in poor living conditions."

Arkansas is the only state that lacks an implied warranty of habitability mandating that landlords provide minimum living standards, according to the Arkansas Journal of Social Change and Public Service.

Council members recommended enacting stricter requirements on landlords and actively enforcing city code.

A neighborhood safety programming subcommittee recommended that the city establish "Opportunity Centers" meant to serve as a one-stop shop where individuals can access services, said Michael Sanders, an assistant director in the Department of Community Programs who heads up the city's Office of Neighborhood Safety.

He suggested that Little Rock start with a pilot center on 12th Street.

Likewise, Mark DeYmaz of the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas reported that the council's built environment subcommittee recommended identifying two existing facilities in two target areas and establishing "Hope Centers" where a variety of programs and services would be aggregated. The two different subcommittees came up with a very similar idea, DeYmaz noted.

Members recommended establishing bi-weekly farmers' markets to bring healthy foods to areas in need as well as bolstering existing community gardens.

Another idea out of the built environment subcommittee was naming a "czar" for the area of University Avenue, Asher Avenue and Colonel Glenn Road, or any area experiencing a high rate of violent crime.

Elements of the presentation drew comments and questions from city board members.

At-large City Director Antwan Phillips suggested exploring whether existing community centers could be used as "Hope Centers," and he asked if the city's funding for Prevention, Intervention and Treatment programs could be used to pay for interventionists or social workers.

Phillips also applauded the council for making the connection between living conditions and crime. He said he supported adding more protections for residents, with the understanding that the state "is not very friendly to tenants -- our state law."

At-large City Director Joan Adcock said she would like to see officials at the Little Rock School District as well as representatives of the juvenile justice system included in the discussion.

City Director Virgil Miller Jr., the Ward 1 representative, encouraged officials to leverage existing assets like neighborhood resource centers.

At one point, City Manager Bruce Moore indicated that he would try to schedule an update from HOPE Advisory Council officials as well as a discussion of existing neighborhood assets during the Jan. 31 city board meeting.


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