A man received a gunshot wound in a scuffle that was the result of an armed robbery just after midnight, Tuesday morning (August 21). Crime Stoppers of Greater Trenton is offering a reward for any information leading to the arrest of the individuals responsible for the crime (reportedly four youths).
A quick review of the Crime Stoppers website provided an eye opener even for this jaded soul.
The organization has listed over 50 crimes that it is offering cash rewards for. Those 50 crimes only go back five months to late March of this year! That's 10 crimes a month that are serious enough to warrant a special cash incentive to bring forward information that can help solve them.
That's an average of one violent and/or serious crime every three days!
And that's just from one source of information...the Crime Stoppers website.
Odds are there is even a greater number of serious crimes that have occurred that haven't made it onto the Crime Stoppers list. Or that haven't been reported to the Police. Or have been reported but have been classified in a less serious manner.
But let's just stick with the 50 crimes on the website. Fifty crimes in 150 days. One every three days.
If crime is down, what was the old average number of serious crimes committed in the City of Trenton?
Showing posts with label cops. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cops. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Let My Fingers Do The Talking
Let's just recap all the events of the past week in Trenton that have left my hands exhausted from typing:
The week started with the discovery of a video produced in the manner of a movie trailer for an action film that touted the accomplishments and credentials of our own Mayor Douglas H. Palmer. The video was made by the US Conference of Mayors, a lobby group that Mayor Palmer currently presides over. It was filled with in-jokes and padded with TV and film clips. A DVD with the video plus a longer, more serious one was sent to select individuals in the area.
From this viewer's perspective, the video was in poor taste considering the state of our city. We'll comment on that at a later date.
Following on the heels of the release of the video, the September issue of Esquire hit newsstands. Inside was a pictorial shot at the Conference of Mayors Convention in LA in June. And there was "Dapper Doug" with a full page photo modeling a very expensive suit, shirt and tie.
More inflated that the cost of the clothes were the self-serving quotes that accompanied the image.
In a newspaper article reporting on the Mayor's Publicity Blitz, Mr. Palmer feigned humility and embarrassment at all the attention. A few days later the editors of the same publication called him on it by suggesting he could simply say "No" to these TV appearances, magazine layouts, etc.
On Thursday came the revelation that Dennis Gonzalez, a self-described "loyal employee of Mayor Palmer" sent a letter to a private citizen threatening to sue for libel and slander unless that citizen offered up a spoken apology at that night's City Council meeting followed by publishing newspaper ads with the same apology. And all the Citizen had done was ask for an status update on the various and sundry development projects that had been proposed since Mr. Gonzalez had become a city employee.
Imagine being sued for asking questions of your local government!
And to cap off the week, a dedicated and effective Police Detective was notified (while on vacation no less) that he was being reassigned to patrol in a seemingly deliberate attempt to weaken the Police/Community relationship in the City's South Police District.
Yup, folks. There is plenty of fodder for conversation in the events of last week.
Meet me out on the stoop and we'll talk about 'em.
The week started with the discovery of a video produced in the manner of a movie trailer for an action film that touted the accomplishments and credentials of our own Mayor Douglas H. Palmer. The video was made by the US Conference of Mayors, a lobby group that Mayor Palmer currently presides over. It was filled with in-jokes and padded with TV and film clips. A DVD with the video plus a longer, more serious one was sent to select individuals in the area.
From this viewer's perspective, the video was in poor taste considering the state of our city. We'll comment on that at a later date.
Following on the heels of the release of the video, the September issue of Esquire hit newsstands. Inside was a pictorial shot at the Conference of Mayors Convention in LA in June. And there was "Dapper Doug" with a full page photo modeling a very expensive suit, shirt and tie.
More inflated that the cost of the clothes were the self-serving quotes that accompanied the image.
In a newspaper article reporting on the Mayor's Publicity Blitz, Mr. Palmer feigned humility and embarrassment at all the attention. A few days later the editors of the same publication called him on it by suggesting he could simply say "No" to these TV appearances, magazine layouts, etc.
On Thursday came the revelation that Dennis Gonzalez, a self-described "loyal employee of Mayor Palmer" sent a letter to a private citizen threatening to sue for libel and slander unless that citizen offered up a spoken apology at that night's City Council meeting followed by publishing newspaper ads with the same apology. And all the Citizen had done was ask for an status update on the various and sundry development projects that had been proposed since Mr. Gonzalez had become a city employee.
Imagine being sued for asking questions of your local government!
And to cap off the week, a dedicated and effective Police Detective was notified (while on vacation no less) that he was being reassigned to patrol in a seemingly deliberate attempt to weaken the Police/Community relationship in the City's South Police District.
Yup, folks. There is plenty of fodder for conversation in the events of last week.
Meet me out on the stoop and we'll talk about 'em.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
The Emperor's New Clothes
Mayor Palmer's sartorial pictorial in the September Esquire just hit the newsstands. Check out page 220. Since the copy is a little hard to read, I will transcribe it here for you:
Doug Palmer, 55 Fifth Term
TRENTON Pop. 85, 403
Greatest triumph: Changing the police department through a referendum. You take on the police - and I got rid of the fire chief, too - and they're bonded to kick your butt.
Best part: You know how they say you walk down the street and everybody stops to talk to you? Yeah, well, when they stop doing that is when you've got a problem.
Two-button wool suit ($1,995) by Dolce and Gabbana; cotton shirt ($490) by Domenico Vacca; silk tie ($125) by Dunhill.
AFTER MY THIRD TERM, I GOT EIGHTY SEVEN PERCENT OF THE VOTE, AND I REALIZED THAT THEY WEREN'T SAYING THAT THEY LOVED ME; THEY WERE SAYING, WE WANT TO GIVE YOU A MANDATE.
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