City and county press conference on rising crime:Zarzecki, Carlson, Nieskes, McReynolds, Wahlen and Becker
Mayor Gary Becker said the city will provide an additional $200,000 to cover Racine Police overtime; County Executive Bill McReynolds said the county will give $150,000 to County Sheriff Bob Carlson, who said it will provide an extra deputy, another criminal investigator and support staff for a "suppression effort." Mount Pleasant Police Chief Tim Zarzecki said the village will cover overtime for his forces to patrol the four-blocks on the east side of the village that abutt Racine's crime area.
"I want to relieve the fears of the community, which has been fed a steady diet of crime in the local media," said Racine Police Chief Kurt Wahlen. "I want to reassure the community: we have things under control. Members of the community should not live in fear."
Becker said, "I stand 100% behind this chief and the police force. He's been creative and aggressive."
McReynolds said, "Public safety is the No. 1 job of any elected official. Racine County will not tolerate lawlessness."
But the "six white men" - as one person in the audience referred to Becker, McReynolds, Wahlen, Zarzecki, Carlson and District Attorney Michael Nieskes - got into trouble with some in the audience of about 70. The press conference at City Hall got heated after the officials called one too many times for help from the "faith-based community," and more action within the African-American community.
Wahlen said, "The long-range solution: it's a community problem. The faith-based community must step up. Where are the African-American males?" he asked rhetorically, referring to a peace march he attended Saturday at which no more than a half-dozen of the 100 adults present were black. Becker, too, called upon the "faith-based community" -- PC code for black churches: "Others have a responsibility to provide opportunities, to give people hope."
Added Wahlen: "Good people do not steal from one another; good people do not shoot one another." He said, "We all have our part to do. Kids are not being taken care of; they're sleeping in their clothes on the floor, watching violent videos, playing violent video games." There's been, he said, "a breakdown of the family, no dad in the house. We need family and the faith-based community to solve it."
Journal Times reporter Janine Anderson asked, "Why lay so much on the faith-based community?" Wahlen responded, "Only a spiritual endeavor can change a heart. They need to step forward and put their money where their faith is."
Former District 1 alderman Keith Fair, who is now the local NAACP's political action chair, called Wahlen out on his statement that blacks must step forward. Wahlen replied, "It's a fact they're not stepping up to the plate." Fair responded, "We never call for those black men until there's an event like this. Don't make an indictment against this community."
The discussion also touched on poverty, joblessness and economics, and the culture of our times.
The chief said he saw the new Batman movie. It was good, he said, but part of "a very violent culture, a gun-toting culture."
Poverty and unemployment were major themes. A woman from Mount Pleasant spoke up and said, "We need jobs. You can't support a family on $5 and $6 an hour."
Becker replied, "There are 600 to 700 jobs posted at the Workforce Development Center." But they're not for the unskilled, as in years past, when he said hard work was enough.
"This is a brutal economy, and there's nothing I can do to change it," the mayor said.
But he insisted, "Crime is not kids stealing to help mom." And Wahlen noted, "We've not had anyone busted for going into a grocery store stealing bread."
Other points discussed:
Sheriff Carlson: "This used to be a rural county; no longer. We are going to redeploy a number of our patrol staff to the City of Racine. We cannot go on like this; it creates a climate that is unacceptable."
District Attorney Nieskes: "There are a lot of initiatives, a lot of efforts under way. Two shootings in one week: that really, truly is not the norm." But he said it's not as bad compared to '92-'96. "This is not something that occurred overnight; it took decades...and in two decades, the new mayor and county executive will still be dealing with the problem."
Chief Wahlen said, "Obviously, I'm not happy about the 2008 statistics." He said the crime stats are well above 2007's, "but that year was the lowest since 1967." robberies are on a six-year trend up, unemployment is up. But vehicle theft has dropped 40%, he said, "perhaps because people cannot afford gas."
He said he has been patrolling the streets, visiting neighborhoods where the latest shootings occurred. "I want to reassure the neighborhoods that these are not random acts." He pointed out that the two latest slayings started "behind closed doors." The implication was that police could not have prevented them.
