Yes, Shreveport Police Chief Alan Crump did show up for the commission committee meeting on crime this time.
So did a lot of law enforcement heavyweights.
Mayor Ollie Tyler, Chief Administrative Officer Brian Crawford and City Attorney Will Bradford also attended.
And what was accomplished?
Absolutely nothing on the agenda item “city/parish crime agenda.”
Give credit to committee chairman, Caddo Parish Commissioner Mario Chavez, for getting a big crowd at the Wednesday meeting.
The commander of Troop G of the Louisiana State Police along with two officers, Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator and his two top deputies, a representative from the Shreveport City Marshal’s office and Assistant Police Chief Bill Goodin attended.
Also in the conference room were Caddo Commissioners Lyndon Johnson, Mike Middleton, Louis Johnson, John Atkins and Steven Jackson, along with parish officials.
Unfortunately Chavez failed to ask either Crump or Tyler the needed question: “Do you want help from any of these law enforcement agencies?”
Crump did explain in great detail the various task forces that had been created while the was chief and the cooperative efforts city police have undertaken with the sheriff’s deputies and deputy city marshals. He also stressed that crime is actually down in the city.
Although it was not explicitly stated by Crump or Tyler, it was obvious that no additional help was wanted from the other law enforcement agencies.
Being an election year, no one really expected Tyler or Crump to ask for assistance. And the fact that declared mayoral candidate Jackson was in the room only further limited constructive dialogue.
As usual, Jackson spoke more than any other commissioner. And as his practice, he used a lot of oxygen to say very little.
At his mayor announcement and in previous interviews, Jackson has touted an expensive, outdated computer program, ShotSpotter, as the solution for crime detection. The agenda included this program. Jackson mysteriously pulled it from discussion at the meeting.
Now that crime assistance is no longer a parish commission issue, maybe more attention can be focused on constituent challenges working with the Shreveport Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission, the need for an additional pod at the Caddo Juvenile Justice Center and ways to stop over spending their income and operating in the red.