Steve Mensing, Editor and Kenny Lane, former Salisbury Police Officer
♦ Salisbury’s high FBI violent and property crime statistics peg the city among the state’s more dangerous cities (per capita). Denial can’t hide the murders, the break-ins, the armed robberies, and the street beatings anymore. Most of Salisbury’s communities struggle with safety issues. 11 unsolved murders says it loud and clear. Yet recently the present police chief Rory Collins has tried to downplay the city’s runaway crime stats. Friends in the Salisbury Police Department tell us Collins is employing everyday techniques to make Salisbury’s towering violent and property crime statistics palatable.
I asked former Salisbury Police Officer Kenny Lane in a phone conversation Monday night to name the more commonly employed “techniques” police chiefs, in crime-infested municipalities like Salisbury, can do to make their departments “look good” and save their jobs.
“No doubt Steve they could,” said Kenny Lane. “The most commonly employed police fudging techniques have to be underreporting and reclassifying. Next would be failure to file a report.”
“Can you give us some examples of reclassification methods to downplay a crime?”
“Sure–devalue stolen property so its no longer a felony. Report a number of crimes as a single event. Reclassify a crime from felony to misdemeanor.”
“How about gang shootings like the one down on Thomas Street?” I asked. “Let’s say an intended victim was spared being hit by a bullet. Under normal circumstances they’d call it an “attempted murder”. Except in a downplay and cover-up, it might get tagged as “an assault” or no report is ever filed. Another example could be the reclassification of a burglary into “misdemeanor larceny”.”
“Here’s one that comes to mind, said Kenny Lane. “Let’s say the police, because they are undermanned, are not dispatched to the West End for over three hours so the end result is frequently no report is ever filed. This is a very common occurrence from what folks tell me. Then our police chief claims crime stats have magically plummeted.”
“Do you think Collin’s recent report of an anticipated drop in crime is accurate?”
“I think the folks living in the West End Communities can answer that far more effectively than I can Steve.”
“Thanks Kenny.”
Our police are understaffed and underpaid which means experienced officers get recruited out of our police department. Its said an estimated 75% of the police force left the Salisbury Police for greener pastures and higher pay over the last 5 years. Even Collins admitted this under cross examination by attorney Todd Paris. What is left behind are inexperienced officers and bungled crime scene investigations.
Underreporting crime stats to FBI is done by cities wanting to make their urban areas look good. It should be discouraged. It harms our citizens by creating a false aura of safety. It appears to be taking place here in Salisbury. According to former and present officers underreporting has been going on for years.
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/May-2014/Chicago-crime-rates/
