As Mayor of Vicksburg, I have appointed a Crime Prevention Task Force Committee, which is crucial to the citizens of Vicksburg — I owe them the assurance of a safe community. The task force consists of four subcommittees, representing the city’s municipal, judicial, information technology and human resources departments. The committee will address the frequency of occurrence and locality of crime and will examine ways to positively use social media to help eliminate crime within our neighborhoods.

I am aware that social media may have an influence on crime. One of the problems with reporting crimes via social media is that oftentimes some well-meaning citizens will rush to post events before calling or in lieu of dialing 911. There are a few individuals who report inaccurate or false events, but there are many others who are sharing actual events within their neighborhoods. We need the latter group to alert our communities. However, I want to emphasize that we definitively need truthful and accurate accounts. I will always believe that social media is a great tool to aid in solving crimes, but must not be used to create or perpetuate crime!

The four subcommittees are social media, community policing and manpower, city ordinances and camera/surveillance/data/statistics. To contain and alleviate some of the “misinformation” highway, the social media subcommittee will offer strategic ideas to work within our First Amendment Rights, while keeping our citizens informed. One charge of this committee is to encourage citizens to contact the Vicksburg Police Department via 911 before posting information on social media.  Let’s give our law enforcement officers the opportunity to SERVE the community. 

The idea of a neighborhood watch leads us to the community policing/manpower committee.  Where I grew up, our neighborhood watch consisted of my mother and the mothers of my friends — they were the neighborhood POLICE! We might need to reinstitute this old fashioned neighborhood policing. To drastically change our city’s crime rate, it will take conscientious citizens operating under the premise of “See Something, Say Something” and immediately call 911. There are three active neighborhood watch associations in Vicksburg — we need more…we need more manpower and community involvement! 

The city ordinance subcommittee will review and update ordinances as they relate to county, state and federal laws and ensure adherence to the U.S. and State Constitution. This subcommittee will address obsolete ordinances and will ensure that all city law enforcement officers are enforcing current ordinances. 

The subcommittee for camera/surveillance/data/statistics will work closely with our information technology and police departments to make recommendations and assist with the installation of cameras in high crime areas. These systems will monitor the streets of Vicksburg, making them safe for our citizens. 

I believe that the accountability and transparency that I am looking for in the fight against crime in Vicksburg is achievable. I am urging each citizen to provide your input and share your ideas with me — I will always welcome public participation!

Remember, #GunsDownVicksburg, visit us at  https://www.facebook.com/CityofVicksburg to view our video in support of this initiative.

George Flaggs Jr. is the mayor of the city of Vicksburg