Magnolia Police Chief Ray Reynolds and the city’s Action Group for Community Oriented Policing learned one thing from residents Thursday night: The police need to do a better job communicating with the people they serve.
That criticism came at a meeting of the group of 26 residents to discuss forming a neighborhood watch program.
Group chairman John Mercier said the organization will develop a plan and hold a community meeting for a neighborhood watch program at a later date.
“There needs to be a whole lot more communication from the police to the community,” resident Jane Bultman said.
Bultman said everyone needs to know what’s going on — especially homeowners who have been burglarized.
Bultman’s son, Mat-thew Bultman, said his house has been burglarized five times and his car once in the past year.
He criticized Reynolds for not telling him that police officers caught two juveniles in his back yard several days after one break-in.
“(Pike County sheriff’s detective) Davis Haygood called me and told me,” Matthew Bultman said. “He heard it on his radio and called me. I didn’t hear from you, Ray, or the mayor that they had been caught.”
Bultman also criticized the police department’s delay in solving the burglaries of his house.
“I’m not trying to poke at anybody,” he said. “I’m just frustrated. I felt there wasn’t any sense of urgency.”
Reynolds said evidence collected at a crime scene is secured and sent to the Mississippi State Crime Lab in Jackson for analysis.
He said the crime lab is understaffed and overworked. It takes time to get test results back, he said, because the lab deals with evidence submitted for analysis from police departments across the state.
Bultman also asked Reynolds why Magnolia officers are patrolling Interstate 55 between the Magnolia and Fernwood exits.
Reynolds said that area of the highway is in Magnolia city limits.
While the officers cover I-55, Reynolds said, their priority is patrolling the city and its problem areas.
He said the city relies on help from the Pike County Sheriff’s Department and the Mississippi Highway Patrol to cover I-55.
“We have written tickets on I-55 and we have worked fatalities on the Interstate,” he said.
Reynolds said residents can help the police do a better job of controlling crime by reporting suspicious activity in their neighborhoods. “If you see something that doesn’t look right or looks out of place, call us.”
The chief said there have been some burglaries where neighbors call two or three days later about something suspicious they saw on the day of the crime.
“That’s too late,” he said.
After the meeting, Reynolds said he will begin taking steps to improve the department’s communication with the public.
“We need to do a better job,” he said. “Communication between the police and the public is the key to solving and stopping crimes.”
