Blytheville Chief of Police Ross Thompson discussed the BPD's implementation of a policy regulating the operation of Proactive Policing Street Crime Units, which is described as officers who either full-time or in addition to the normal duties will conduct surveillance, proactive preventive patrol, and investigate street crime activity in Blytheville without calls for service interruptions.
"We'll have one ranking officer that is in charge of the team or the unit and they are required to do a preoperation plan so that we can understand what areas they are wanting to operate in. This could be data driven based on intel, could be calls for service, could be particular types of crimes or complaints or something like that. Then, we will do what is called a post-op summary when they are done at the end of that shift or at the end of that time frame that they have been scheduled for; they will report back to us how many arrests they made," Thompson said.
According to the policy, "The Blytheville Police Department recognizes that effective enforcement of the law requires proactive methods to reduce and or prevent crime. Violations of the law often referred to as street crimes are frequently committed by known offenders in recognizable patterns. Therefore, the department may employ proactive methods to help reduce crime. Proactive policing methods can sometimes be misunderstood, by citizens and at times purposefully misrepresented by the criminal element of the community. It is the policy of this department to be open with the community about proactive policing without compromising operational effectiveness."
The Blytheville Police Department is currently staffed at 32 officers and is budgeted for 40.
The non-certified hiring phase will begin in March and the BPD is always accepting applications from certified officers. All civilian positions are currently filled.
Blytheville Fire Chief Mike Carney announced that the fire department is currently fully staffed with 31 personnel after hiring someone very recently.
He said that it is his goal to keep an eligibility list, which has not been done in recent years.
"Used to we would test one time a year and whatever was left on that eligibility list it was good for one year, but we don't get quite the number of qualified applicants anymore and plus, the timing sometimes for people…they can't wait for that year and we will have some applicants come in and apply for a job. Used to we tell them, ‘We are not going to be testing again for another six months,’ even though we might have some openings…our way of thinking has kind of changed, so we don't miss out on the opportunity of some of these guys," Carney said.
The department's P-1, a 100 foot ladder truck, is currently back in service. A ladder test was performed recently showing a passing grade in all categories.
Carney stated that the department was fortunate to have the truck back when it was since the city had the warehouse fire nearly a week after the truck was returned.
"That roof dropped in on us and that was really a good thing, the roof went within the first 15 minutes of the fire. It was really, in all honesty, a good thing…when I pulled up close to the North 6th Street section of the building, I saw the flames coming up from the center of the roof…the good thing was there wasn't a whole lot of contents…the contents are what is known as the fire load in the building. It was more or less a vacant building," Carney said.
The department is currently looking to purchase eight Level A Haz-Mat suits to replace older suits within the department. Carney stated that the BFD has the only fully functioning Haz-Mat team in Mississippi County, so staying up to date on this equipment was important for not only Blytheville but also the surrounding communities. The new suits are around $1,000. Carney stated that he is currently getting quotes for the suits; however, he did have them included in the budget for 2019.
Five members of the BFD recently participated in a Grain Bin Rescue class in Jonesboro, which was made possible from Farm Bureau Insurance.
Carney stated that unfortunately when discussing grain bin scenarios, the department is typically recovering a body due to the very small window of time that a person has when such an incident occurs.
As part of the ISO agreements, the BFD will soon begin their annual fire inspections. The department has over 900 buildings on its list for 2019.
Committee chair Barbara Brothers also mentioned how she supported the idea that the council should have attendance requirements to receive full pay.