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There isn't a lot to do in Paragould, Arkansas, but residents of the town of barely 25,000 seem to have no problem finding trouble. Now in order to curb the rising crime rate, the city is proposing heavily armed police patrol the streets on foot.
At a town hall meeting on Thursday, Mayor Mike Gaskill and Police Chief Todd Stovall endorsed a plan to send cops dressed in full-fledged SWAT gear and equipped with AR-15s into downtown Paragould starting in 2013.
The militarized police force will be tasked with trying to control a crime rate that has made Paragould an increasingly dangerous place to live in recent years. According to statistics collected by city-data.com, Paragould has had a property crime index rating more than double the national average since 2007. Rapes, burglaries, thefts and assaults per capita are also well above the mean there, statistically suggesting Paragould is perhaps the least-safe among area cities.
"This fear is what's given us the reason to do this. Once I have stats and people saying they're scared, we can do this," Stovall said, according to the Paragould Daily Press. "It allows us to do what we're fixing to do."
In order to bring crime down, residents of Paragould may soon have to endure police officers brandishing semi-automatic assault riddles on the regular. What's more, Stovall says, is he intends to have the cops collecting identification from everyone and anyone in an attempt to discourage criminal activity.
"If you're out walking, we're going to stop you, ask why you're out walking, check for your ID," the Daily Press reports him saying during last week's meeting.
"To ask you for your ID, I have to have a reason," he said. "Well, I've got statistical reasons that say I've got a lot of crime right now, which gives me probable cause to ask what you're doing out. Then when I add that people are scared"?then that gives us even more [reason] to ask why are you here and what are you doing in this area."
"They may not be doing anything but walking their dog," added Mayor Gaskill, "but they're going to have to prove it."
Soon after the Paragould Daily Press picked up the story, news of the small town's efforts to enforce martial law began making headlines outside of Arkansas. On Sunday, Stovall authored an explanation on the Paragould Police Department website to clarify how exactly the proposed Street Crimes Unit will interact with citizens.
"Most often, this identification process will be nothing more than making contact with a subject, handing them a business card, and asking if they live in the area and if there's anything we can do for them," he says. During hours in which crime seems to be more prevalent, however, Chief Stovall says their process "will become more stringent."
"We will be asking for picture identification. We will be ascertaining where the subject lives and what they are doing in the area. We will be keeping a record of those we contact."
Stovall adds that they program would not violate the constitutional rights of Paragould citizens, claiming, "Once we have an area that shows a high crime rate or a high call volume, it is our duty and obligation to find out why this is occurring and what we can do to prevent the trend from continuing. Therefore, identifying subjects in those problem areas help us to solve crimes, and hopefully to prevent future crimes."
Paragould has scheduled two more town hall meetings to discuss the Street Crimes Unit.
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I wouldn't deal with this shit, honestly. From their police website:
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12/17/2012
Cancellation of Town Hall Meetings
In the interest of public safety, we have elected to cancel the remaining Town Hall Meetings.
We have corresponded with numerous residents and non-residents today alone who were both supportive and against our Street Crimes Unit and Town Hall Meetings. Some of the correspondance has caused us great pause in whether or not the meetings should remain as scheduled.
As the police department, it is our duty to protect ALL residents and non-residents from harm. We feel that with the strong feelings on both sides of the Street Crimes Unit issue, a safe and productive meeting would not be the probable outcome.
============
So it looks like they are scared, with their so called "probable cause". Good.
feds.
these boys were voted for. people begged to be ruled at the polls. They got what they asked for. They are getting what they deserve for begging for a government master.
Who was it who said ' we just gotta get back to LOCAL politics'. 'get our locals to support our liberty'....what a hoot! Any time you elevate another human being above you and ask to be ruled this is the result. They always, without exception turn into monsters.
The true threat to humanity is the ideal of being ruled. The idea called government.
"Paragould has had a property crime index rating more than double the national average since 2007"."Rapes, burglaries, thefts, and assaults per capita are also well above the mean there...".
Sad to say, but the "residents of the town" who "seem to have no problem finding trouble" have brought it on themselves.
When I say brouht it on themselves, I mean they've brought this SWAT police state thing on themselves. Act like a bunch of animals, expect to be caged.This site contains copyrighted material the use of which in some cases has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available for the purposes of news reporting, education, research, comment, and criticism, which constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (found at the U.S. Copyright Office) and other applicable intellectual property laws. It is our policy to remove material from public view that we believe in good faith to be copyrighted material that has been illegally copied and distributed by any of our members or users.
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