Complaints about people hanging out at a convenience store at the corner of Bowmar Avenue and Drummond Street and making lewd signs toward children heading to Bowmar Elementary School, children walking neighborhood streets after midnight, panhandlers and pats on the back for the city’s police department were among the topics discussed Tuesday night at a public meeting on crime.

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. called the meeting in the wake of telephone calls and emails he said he received from residents about crime in the city.

Flaggs later said one of the complaints he received about police not patrolling a specific area were unfounded, saying a check of police reports indicated officers were consistently patrolling the area.

He said at the close of the meeting another public meeting on crime will be held Sept. 27 at 5:30 p.m., “And we’re going to have a public discussion on crime until we’re rid of crime. That’s the only way to do it.”

“If we’re going rid crime, there’s a lot of things that need to take place,” Police Chief Walter Armstrong said. Flaggs told him to have his recommendations for the next meeting.

The mayor said the meeting was not an indictment of Armstrong or his department, “It is so we can correct crime and we can reduce crime.”

A standing room only crowd filled the boardroom at the City Hall Annex, forcing city officials to get extra chairs from other rooms to accommodate people. Besides the concerns about loiterers, panhandlers and juvenile crime, people also offered suggestions.

One woman suggested the police department use two officers per car instead of the present policy of one officer per car.

“In the past, when any incident has happened (in her neighborhood), a police car will arrive, but no one will get out and investigate until a backup police car arrives,” said Barbara Applebaum. “That’s two police cars in one place. I saw four on the Interstate had one car pulled over on the side of the road … This seems like too many people in one place. If you had two policemen in one car, they could call for backup if they need it. One would be backup for the person who goes in.”

Joyce Clingan complained about an apartment complex in front of Academy of Innovation on Grove Street, and asked Police Chief Walter Armstrong to park a police car at the corner of Bowmar and Drummond at a convenience store when school takes in and lets out to discourage loiterers.

Tim DeRossette complained about problems with lighting on Cherry Street, and asked police to enforce the city’s noise ordinance.

Peggy Folger said people reporting about panhandlers on Facebook upset her.

“I’m thinking, ‘Did you call 911?’ “ she said. “Before you rant and rave on social media, give our officers time to check out the situation and see what’s going on. Maybe that would help solve some of the crime problems in the city, because they can’t be everywhere all the time.”

Stan Collins, whose son, Michael Collins, was the missing driver of the dump truck that went into the Mississippi River a week ago, praised Armstrong.

“That’s one of the best men we’ve got in this town; he keeps you safe. Dial 911 and see how fast he comes…this man right here is the best man to keep peace in this town,” Collins said.

Armstrong presented a PowerPoint display showing how crime in the city has dropped since he took office in 2009, pointing out he revived the summer youth program in 2010 that has averaged 300 children ages 7 to 18.

The department has also achieved state accreditation and has acquired new service weapons for officers and body cameras at no cost to the taxpayers.

In July 2016, he said, officers responded to 7,265 calls and has had a 100 percent solvability rate for homicides and rape, and officers have arrested about 33,540 people since 2009.

“Everything cannot, should not, be laid at the feet of the Vicksburg Police Department,” he said. “There are so many other things that come into play to make a safer community. If you look at some of our deficiencies in Vicksburg and you compare that to Madison, where they don’t have those deficiencies … I can take the entire Madison Police Department and bring them over here, and we can go over there, and what’s happening over there will continue to be the same over there, and what’s happening here will continue to be the same.”

He said officers open and close the gates at Cedar Hill Cemetery, the gates at Riverfront Park.

“We do any number of things that one might say, ‘What in the world does that have to do with the function?’ but we do those things.”

He said officers do not have the authority to go on private property and tell someone to leave.

“What I can do, if I identify someone selling drugs, prostitution, or open container, then yes, we can respond to that,” he said. “But I cannot go on someone else’s property and tell them they cannot be there.

“If we go on somebody’s property, overstep our authority and something bad happens — someone gets shot or killed — then we have got ourselves in a pickle we can never get out of it.

“We have boundaries,” Armstrong said, adding he has a friend from the FBI speak each year to officers, “because we don’t want to violate anyone’s civil rights and they are very knowledgeable about what they can and can’t do.”

Armstrong said, however, officers will still respond to complaints about loiterers, because when they get there they may find a serious problem.

He also reminded residents they can play a part in preventing crime, telling them to lock their car doors and not keep valuables in their vehicles.

The majority of the auto burglary calls they answer, he said, the cars were unlocked “and there was several hundred dollars in cash and a loaded gun.”

“I see a lot of residents here, and I thank you for your support,” he said. “I also see a lot of business owners here, and we thank you for your support.”

He also told people if they had a problem, to call him.

“I’m very accessible, and I look forward to your calls,” he said.