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MEMPHIS, TN (WREG) - 1/27/10) Police and school leaders have ramped up security at Memphis City Schools after a rash of guns were found in schools. Upswing in campus crime prompts MCS and MPD response MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin and Memphis City Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash clash on the issue of an independent police department for the school district. "It's very disturbing that we have the weapons and incidents that are being committed," said Godwin. MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - Four East High School students were arrested Tuesday after police said they brought drugs and a gun onto campus. Loaded gun recovered at Hamilton High School MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - Memphis Security Officers found a 16-year-old boy with a loaded gun at Hamilton High School after a student gave a tip to Trust Pays.
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - It's not hard to find the city's rough spots. The Hyde Park community in North Memphis struggles with the type of decline, that breeds poverty and crime. 'BSafe' gives fearful seniors a weapon Dec 30, 2009 Advocates for a new initiative hope to give elderly residents a silent weapon against neighborhood fear. SeniorBSafe will use a tip line and the participation of churches to give the elderly a place to turn when they're confronted with neighborhood threats.
"Quite frankly, every indication I get is there's a lot of people out there who are afraid, confused or apprehensive," said Buddy Chapman, executive director of CrimeStoppers.
Chapman calls SeniorBSafe a "first cousin" to CrimeStoppers, which offers cash rewards for tips about criminal activity. Many seniors feel apprehensive about the likelihood of retaliation if they speak up about a neighborhood menace, Chapman said. That fear is compounded by the mistrust of police that's often seen in the black community "for a variety of very valid reasons," Chapman said.
Chapman said one elderly woman told him men who'd been gambling at the house next door urinated on her door and threatened to burn her house down. "That's what the whole thing is about," Chapman said.
"The two big hurdles are getting them to admit the problem, to overcome the fear or embarrassment," he said, "and for them to be comfortable and confident enough to be willing to give you the details so you can get into it."
Rev. Melvin Lee, pastor of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in the Hyde Park neighborhood, said many seniors he knows feel trapped. "The situation ... is that seniors are basically captives in their own community," he said, "and that's because they don't feel safe to get out ... to do the things they should be able to do. "This project will allow them a way to do what they need to do as good citizens but with no reprisals," he said. Calls for help will draw police attention, if warranted, but officers will be discreet and won't focus blue lights on a senior's home.
Seniors can get help in any of three ways: By calling the Crisis Center's CRISIS7 (274-7477) hotline, contacting a church, or by leaving a message at a CrimeStoppers number, 528-0699.
The volunteers who answer the phones at the Crisis Center will be trained to respond to seniors, said Crisis Center executive director Mike LaBonte.
"It's going to be done in a very low-key, sensitive manner with an emphasis on confidentiality and trust-building," he said.
However, SeniorBSafe doesn't replace 911, and all emergency calls should go there, Chapman said.
The program will begin officially Jan. 1, although word of mouth is spreading, he said. Grant money will pay for advertising, fliers and stickers to get the message out.
"I'm hoping that one of the big factors of this program will be to build the pieces of trust that will enable us to go even further in the fight against crime," Chapman said.
"Only the community can really put a stop to the crime issue." That is why E. Winslow “Buddy” Chapman, executive director of Memphis CrimeStoppers, started the SeniorBSafe program, which he called a first cousin to CrimeStoppers. The program is aimed at seniors who are enduring this kind of behavior because they are afraid to call police.
SeniorBSafe will allow them to report problems anonymously and have police officers act to stop them sooner rather than later. And since many seniors have a special connection with their churches, the program is relying heavily on pastors to get the word out about SeniorBSafe and to encourage seniors to use it.
If they do, the fight to curb crime will have one more useful weapon. Security for seniors Dec 29, 2009 When a neighborhood deteriorates it seems that its senior citizens are disproportionately adversely affected.
That is especially true when it comes to criminal or rowdy behavior near their homes. Threats and fear of retaliation can make seniors prisoners in their homes, and such behavior often is allowed to continue unabated because seniors are afraid to call the police. That is why E. Winslow “Buddy” Chapman, executive director of Memphis CrimeStoppers, started the SeniorBSafe program, which he called a first cousin to CrimeStoppers. The program is aimed at seniors who are enduring this kind of behavior because they are afraid to call police.
SeniorBSafe will allow them to report problems anonymously and have police officers act to stop them sooner rather than later. And since many seniors have a special connection with their churches, the program is relying heavily on pastors to get the word out about SeniorBSafe and to encourage seniors to use it.
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