Mayor praises West Memphis Fire, Police 2017 performance

Mayor praises West Memphis Fire, Police 2017 performance

Johnson highlights WMFD’s high rating, WMPD community outreach efforts

news@theeveningtimes.com

Life is good when you are a top-rated sports team or moving up in the rankings.

It’s the same way for the two departments concerned with public safety in West Memphis. The fire department has maintained its top notch ISO rating and the police department logged a double digit improvement in a pair of key crime statistic. Mayor Bill Johnson passed along the report cards for the fire and police department the 2017 recap state of the city message.

The mayor lauded the efforts of the entire police department under Chief Donald Oakes and said the DETER (Data Enhanced Target Enforcement and Restoration) delivered huge improvements in an area focused on South Avalon.

That corridor received the first Sky cop camera in the city. The video surveillance along with saturation patrols significantly cut criminal activity in the area.

City-wide, a 16 percent drop in gun related violent crime was recorded and homicides dropped by almost one third. The mayor said federal training and assistance helped sweep the city and cleaned up some of the violent crime.

“The department received training and technical assistance provided by the department of Justice and Bureau of Justice Assistance to enhance the departments violent crime fighting ability,” said Johnson.

That working relationship with the Feds proved its worth in July. A two year joint investigation with the DEA and ATF culminated in 50 arrests on drug and gun charges during a dragnet styled round-up called Operation Money Don’t Sleep.

A renewed emphasis on community relations served well to reach out to the community. A first ever citizens academy produced 20 graduates. A series of seminars exposed citizens to the inner workings of each division in the police department.

“It gave them a better understanding of how each division operates,” said Johnson. “The department plans two more of these in 2018.”

A police foundation was established last year and its support went to making Christmas brighter for two local children groups. One community outreach highlight numbered in the 100’s with kids turning out for the WMPD Trunk or Treat at Halloween.

Community outreach meetings were held in every corner of the city and the police effectively took to social media to put out important communication.

“It has been a great asset in solving several cases and keeping the public better informed about incidents in the city,” said Johnson.

New technology and training for new recruits continued as 2017 highlight for the police department. The West Memphis Basic Police Academy produced ten officers in two separate classes last year. The department logged 12,000 training hours some of which monthly sessions on the use of force simulator training.

The department landed a $455,000 grant placing mobile terminals in each patrol vehicle. Officers can complete reports without leaving the field and run ACIC information once all the units are installed.

Fire Chief Wayne Gately provided statistics from the top rated ISO 1 fire department for the busy 2017 to the mayor. Fire runs totaled 1,764 last year which included tree work, rescuing two cats and a drone recovery. One cat was rescued from the storm drain. The ambulance ran 2,418 times.

Training continued as a hallmark for the firefighters, EMTs and paramedics. The WMFD hosted a statewide training in Hazmat, rescue, also rope rescue training, and confined space rescue sessions. Department representatives traveled to an out-of -state aircraft fire fighting school and participated in joint drills with the 61st Army Hazmat unit. In all the department logged 8004 hours of certification classroom training and 22,420 hours of on duty daily training.

Community outreach highlights for 2017 at the WMFD included in-school reading programs at Faulk, L.R. Jackson, and Avondale elementary. The Academies of West Memphis seniors were eyewitnesses to the departments prom promise demonstration. CASA benefited from department efforts on Gammon Lake for the annual Rubber Duck Race in Tilden Rodgers

Park.

By John Rech