By Ray King
During an appearance on the Oldies 101.3 morning show with Greg Horne and Will Jenkins Tuesday, Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington was asked about the number of homicides in the city and what could be done about them.
She said Pine Bluff did go through a nearly two-month stretch earlier this year when there were no homicides but then there were six in a 10-day period.
“That’s what I’ve seen since I’ve been in office,” Washington said. “You go for a spell where it’s quiet and then you’ll have a rash of crime, so we just have to build on those longer periods of no violent crime.”
She was also asked if (Police Chief) Kelvin Sergeant had the resources needed to do the job.
On Mother’s Day weekend, the department got help from the Arkansas State Police who sent troopers and the state’s helicopter to the city. Washington said that was a response to the previous week when officers wrote more than 70 curfew violation citations and chased groups of people from one side of town to the other.
“So, the Police Department was pretty much outnumbered,” she said. “We just had to bring in other agencies to support us and we will continue to do that at a more aggressive state if that’s what it takes to bring order to our city.”
