CCPD Proceeds with Caution During First 90 Days

Chief of the Camden County Police Department Scott Thomson and Camden City Mayor Dana Redd met with members of the press Tuesday to highlight the reduction of homicides and the increase gun seizures in Camden City since the inception of the new police force this past May.

Roughly 75 weapons that have been seized by police throughout the first three months since the CCPD’s inception were placed on display as Chief Thomson and Mayor Redd discussed the status of crime in the city compared to 2012.

According to the CCPD, violent crimes that occurred between May 1st and July 31st of 2012 compared to 2013 in the Parkside community have been reduced by 67 percent. The CCPD also reports that the Fairview community has seen a 54 percent decrease in violent crimes during the same period of time.

The number of seized firearms increased as well. The CCPD recovered 74 illegal firearms since May 1st, a 76 percent increase compared to last year’s 42 recovered weapons between the start of May and the conclusion of July.

The number of homicides has so far been reduced since the start of the new force compared to last year as well. Between May 1st and July 31st of 2012, there was a reported 21 homicides throughout the city. According to CCPD statistics, this number has been reduced to 15 in 2013.

The statistics provided only reflect the number of crimes committed in the last 90 days under the CCPD, not the entire 2013 year.

These homicides have taken place in a very short period of time and provide little indication as whether or not Camden City will see another record-breaking year in deaths. Last year, there were 67 homicides in Camden City, which broke a longstanding 1995 record of 58.

Thomson agrees, saying that the current success of the CCPD will not result in an immediate shift in Camden’s violent status quo but it is in fact progress.

“What we’re highlighting is progression,” said Thomson. “People are not going to feel safe over night. What you’re going to hear from them is, ‘Is this better than what it once was?’ And I think the resounding answer to that is absolutely yes.”

Mayor Redd says that the efforts put forward by the CCPD have led to significant changes in the community and that the lives of city’s residents are slowly beginning to change.

“If you ride around the city you can see the difference, and that difference resides in the children of Camden,” said Redd. “Kids are in the parks and playing in the streets again, there is an impact that is tangible to the city and to our residents. From reducing violent crime in Parkside and Fairview, to seeing police officers playing with our youth and being positive role models, I’m confident we will see more improvements as the Metro continues to staff up.”

“Holistic measures”

The CCPD’s efforts have, so far, been focused primarily on the Parkside and Fairview communities, which border suburban municipalities, as opposed to targeting more violent areas such as Whitman Park or Northern Camden. Chief Thomson says that by eradicating gang activity in smaller areas with less crime, the police can “set an example” for the rest of the city.

“Look, we have a finite amount of resources. If we tried to launch this city-wide we would have an absolutely minimal impact,” said Thomson. “We had to pick two communities that have legitimate problems and also two communities in which we already have a well-founded relationship establishment with the community and community mobilization that has already occurred prior to the transition.”

“We have launched our community policing efforts in Parkside and Fairview but that does not mean we are ignoring the rest of the city,” Thomson later added. “We still have operations and very aggressive crime suppression efforts in other communities as well.”

Mayor Redd says that efforts in places like Whitman Park have not been forgotten and that “holistic” measures are being taken to address crime and the abundance of abandoned housing in the area.

“We are engaged, actively, in a redevelopment planning process with the United Neighbors of Whitman Park and the Housing Authority to apply for choice implementation grant under HUD, under President Obama,” said Redd. “If we are successful in our efforts, that implementation grant will bring in $30 million to do housing and reduce some of the density that plagues Whitman Park. So we are looking at Whitman Park in a holistic way.”

The Broken Windows Theory

Chief Thomson discussed the strategies put in place by the CCPD and how he believes they have lead to a reduction in violent crimes throughout the city.

One of the methods in question is called the “broken windows” theory, a law enforcement strategy that suggests that by putting more “boots on the ground” and reining in those committing smaller crimes and misdemeanors such as public urination, intoxication and disturbing the peace, more violent crimes are less likely to occur.

“Generally what we find, and what broken windows has proven, is that the people who are committing the most egregious crimes are also committing the lesser offenses as well. And that is the time that law enforcement needs to be interacting and engaging with those folks,” said Chief Thomson. “What you generally find is when you enforce the small things, bigger things fall as well.”

Thomson directly attributes this type of policing to the 74 weapons that have been removed from the streets so far and that by addressing what he calls, “quality of life issues,” such as traffic violations, the CCPD will be able to make a substantial impact on the number of violent crimes and drug related activities throughout the city.

“What this is the byproduct of is officer engagement. This is the byproduct of officers enforcing quality of life issues,” said Thomson. “This is the result of officers, when they get out of their squad cars or they remain on a walking beat and they speak to a person who lives in that neighborhood and the people who are there are identifying to us who the problem individuals are.”

The necessary resources

During the press conference, Thomson noted that the success of the CCPD is a result of having the resources the previous department struggled to maintain such as officer attendance.

“It’s a matter of us having resources. Resources that actually come to work,” said Thomson. “Our absentee rate, so far this year, is 4 percent as compared to 30 percent last year.”

Though he did not touch on what has led to such a dramatic shift in attendance, Thomson says that the result of the officers who are showing up for work is what is making progress.

“When you have officers who come to work and do good, proactive community policing, this is the result,” he said.