One topic was at the forefront of concerns expressed Thursday evening by Poplar Bluff residents at Mayor Steve Davis’s first listening post. The city’s crime rate.
A clear majority of the roughly 20 attendees expressed concern — and even frustration — at the rise in crime in Poplar Bluff.
One of those residents was Rhonda Hillis, who said she has dealt with several crimes at or near her residence. She later added security cameras at her residence that showed someone throwing rocks at her home while she was at Thursday’s listening post.
“I don’t know what we can do, but we’ve got to figure something else out,” Hillis said during the event at Bread + Butter restaurant.
Larry Leeds is a 30-year resident of Poplar Bluff and owns an auto repair shop on Maud Street. He said he has spent $10,000 on security and other prevention tools to keep people from stealing items such as catalytic converters and tow bar hitches from his business. It’s a situation that has him frustrated and angry.
“I’ve got to put a fence at my business to keep people from pilfering my business,” Leeds said.
Poplar Bluff resident Jack Altman also has dealt with the rising crime rate in town and said a neighborhood watch could be part of the solution, an idea that Davis agrees could help reduce crime in some parts of Poplar Bluff.
“I’m not that familiar with the program, but I know it’s been around for some time in different communities,” Davis said. “The idea has been introduced to some other council members also. So, I believe this is something we can definitely revisit and see what our law enforcement leaders think the possibilities are there.”
Others expressed frustration at the Poplar Bluff Police Department and even at the city’s leaders Thursday. One of those was Paula Gowen, who is an administrator on the “Butler County Missouri Crime Watch” page on Facebook.
“Residents from all over Poplar Bluff and Butler County have expressed concerns and frustrations over the criminal activity that has seemed to spiral out of control in the past couple of years,” Gowen said. “Several citizens have complained that when they call for police assistance, that they are treated as if they are the nuisance.”
Tammy Ryan shared some of Gowen’s frustration, saying she felt like the city was fighting a losing battle and is “done making excuses” until things improve.
Gowen agreed with Altman that a neighborhood watch could help, but that the city needs to do more as well.
“What needs to happen is that the city council members and law enforcement at every level need to make their presence and their interest known to the citizens, and criminals that we aren’t taking it anymore,” Gowen said. “The city council needs to help citizens organize a neighborhood watch program, which citizens have repeatedly asked the council to do. It won’t stop criminal activity, but it will certainly deter it.”
Davis said Poplar Bluff is not the only community in Southeast Missouri that is battling a rise in crime and it is a “symptom of a larger problem we’re seeing nationwide.” He also had words of praise for the PBPD.
“We have an excellent police department in Poplar Bluff,” Davis said. “They’re highly trained and they do a good job. The department needs to be brought back up to full staff though.
“Proactive policing is a strong way to address the crime problem. But that can’t be done as effectively as it should be though without optimal manpower.”
Poplar Bluff City Manager Matt Winters said at the listening post that the PBPD worked 300 hours of overtime the previous week and that other Southeast Missouri police departments are dealing with a manpower shortage.
PBPD Captain David Sutton said on Friday that a fully staffed department has a total of 45 people on board — three fewer than the department had a decade ago. However, he added the department has had two officers leave the force recently and a third is leaving Tuesday. While the department is looking to hire four officers to get the department back to full staffing, finding applicants for those positions is not easy.
“In years past, we’d get 20-30 applicants for a single patrol position,” Sutton said. “We would pick the best candidates out of that pool, but in the last several hiring processes, we have had one person pass the testing process. We’ve had single-digit applicants for (each open position) the last several years.”