Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. will be featured in a national news broadcast Monday night focused on the challenges some American cities face regarding crime.
Scott will be one of the guests featured in a two hour town hall edition of "Cuomo" called "Crime in America" that airs at 7 p.m. CDT on News Nation.
In front of a live studio audience in New York City, host Chris Cuomo will interview Scott, other cities' mayors and law enforcement officials about crime in their respective cities.
The broadcast will also feature questions from viewers in Dallas, Texas and Chicago, Illinois.
In addition to Scott, the other guests include Wade Kapszukiewicz, mayor of Toledo, Ohio; Luke Bronin, mayor of Hartford, Conn.; and Elaine O'Neal, mayor of Durham, N.C.
"Mayor Scott is looking forward to the opportunity to talk to a national audience about Little Rock's comprehensive, holistic approach to reducing crime and the turnaround we've seen in our city over the last year," said Aaron Sadler, a spokesman for the mayor, in a statement. "Like other cities across the country, Little Rock experienced increased crime during the pandemic.
"However, with Little Rock's investment in targeted patrols, technology and new community programs, our crime rate has been trending downward for more than a year, and our homicide rate is currently 35 percent lower than in 2022. As we challenge a perception that doesn't match reality, it's important to use every opportunity to talk about what we're doing right, and continue to have constructive conversations about what we can improve."
The "Cuomo" program will also feature reporting from News Nation senior national correspondent Brian Entin on how crime is impacting cities like Little Rock.
Through the week of July 24, the Little Rock Police Department reported 31 homicides compared to 47 at the same point last year, a 34% decrease.
It's also down 5% from the five-year average of 33 homicides.
The police also reported 2,020 violent crimes, down 5% from the 2,120 seen through July 24, 2022.
However, there was a 2% increase in robberies with 248 vs 243 last year.
In the first half of 2023, law enforcement investigated 44 killings in Pulaski County, less than the 47 homicides reported by the end of June 2021 and the 62 investigated by that date last year.
In June, Little Rock police investigated six homicide deaths in four separate incidents, with one of them being a triple homicide, while Pulaski County deputies investigated one killing.
All of the victims in June's homicides died of gunshot wounds, authorities said.
The city's Real-Time Crime Center launched last August.
Earlier this year it entered its second phase, letting residents and businesses register or directly integrate their security cameras with the Little Rock Police Department's network, via a rollout plan called Connect Little Rock.
As of Sunday, the program's website connectlittlerock.org reported 818 registered cameras and 881 integrated cameras.
Police Chief Heath Helton previously said he hopes to have 4,000 cameras registered with the system by the end of the year.