By Ray King
Reported crime in Pine Bluff declined by eight percent in 2020 compared to 2019, according to Police Chief Kelvin Sergeant.
During a meeting of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee Wednesday, Sergeant said there were 4,361 crimes reported in 2019 and 4,010 in 2020, a difference of 351. Officers responded to a total of 42,339 total incidents last year.
However, reported crime in January increased by 27 percent compared to 2020 and Sergeant attributed much of that to increases in simple assault, theft and theft of motor vehicle reports. No homicides were reported in January.
On another subject, Sergeant said the department currently has 103 officers and is budgeted for 131, so there are 28 opening. Five applicants will be interviewed for positions and police are participating in a virtual job fair with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Feb. 14.
Asked by Committee Chairman Glen Brown Jr., what, besides the salary is making it harder to find applicants, Sergeant said when the Civil Service Commission was abolished and the department started doing its own hiring and testing, the former civil service rules were adopted, which eliminated any applicant who had been convicted of a Class A misdemeanor.
While a conviction for domestic battery, which is a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense would still disqualify an applicant, Sergeant said convictions for other misdemeanors, particularly if they occurred 10 to 15 years ago, should not automatically disqualify an applicant.
The same holds true for misdemeanor possession of marijuana, he said. Other departments currently will hire applicants who had previous convictions for marijuana possession. Sergeant said the questions that arise there are not only when marijuana was used but how much it was used and how often it was used.
