Recently to give “Plainfield national recognition”, PMUA Commissioner and veteran Alex Toliver pushed for a parade celebration on Memorial Day to acknowledge our Iraqi and Afghanistan veterans. As a veteran myself I concur that a municipality should honor those who have risked themselves in the service of our country.
The Administration has seized upon the idea and under the auspices of the Recreation section made the celebratory parade part of the July 4rth celebration.
Toliver need not have worried about Plainfield having national notoriety. Recently there was the flack about the Mayor’s public criticism of Councilor Williams for not saying the pledge of allegiance to the flag and “grunting” during meetings.
On April 24 in a Courier News article Mark Spivey wrote:” "We have had a little bit of an uptick"(in violence), Director of Public Safety Hellwig .-- That is a conservative approach to 4 shootings and one fatal stabbing in the past two weeks.”
Thursday May 10th on all TV news channels were Helicopter pictures of Plainfield’s corner of East Front Street and Roosevelt Ave the site of a fatal shooting early in the morning, as well as newspaper reports of two other shootings during the night.
A big uptick!. To again quote the Courier; “At least 10 people have been shot here during the last month, yet no arrests in any of those cases have been made.” -----“Hellwig said that unlike in parts of late 2010 and early 2011, most of the recent violence is not believed to be tied to any sort of gang dispute.”
It is important to note that unlike 2010-2011 this uptick in violence seems to be more prevalent between Central Ave and Richmond Street in the East End. The far West End has been reportedly free. Also most seem to be part of robberies. Investigations into several other shootings have been hampered by uncooperative witnesses and victims.
Mark Spivey further wrote; Hellwig added, noting that police are anxiously awaiting the scheduled June 1 activation of a sophisticated gunshot-detection network.
“I’m looking forward to it with great anticipation,” Hellwig said. “Last night (Wednesday) into this morning (Thursday), based on what’s been happening lately, we even already had extra patrols out … but sometimes you just have to be lucky, too.”
Many of our citizens have expressed concern about the effectiveness of the Shotspotters whose installation has been delayed for over six months. Additionally the companion live monitored surveiience cameras are about a year away at best from being installed and activated.
Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs said Thursday to the Courier ; “I’d like to assure the residents of Plainfield that this situation is under control; noting “I know that public safety is a major concern with our residents, and that is why my administration has taken bold and innovative steps to reduce crime in troubled area,”. Just the facts mam, facts.
One important fact is that this year’s violent crimes have been disproportionally involved members of Plainfield’s rapidly growing Hispanic population. How much can be attributed to the lack of gainful employment available to this group?
It is very questionable if passive methods will cut down on crime. Increased Police presence with subsequent greater pressure is an important factor. Unfortunately that is not realistic until after graduation from the Essex County Police Academy of I believe 10 recruits to help fill functional vacancies in a depleted Police department.
One wonders why the Police Department has been allowed to become understaffed.
I'm glad our mayor is taking credit for taking charge of public safety and working so hard on it. I don't think she has done much about public safety or cares much about it unless it relates to her re-election. I love that "just the facts mam." We don't get many facts from her nibs.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that paying to Al Sharpton to speak for 5 minutes and the walk away was a 'bold and innovatinve step".
ReplyDeleteA ship without a rudder.....
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