NATCHEZ — If Natchez is to see an end to senseless violence in its streets, local leaders say it will take more than just law enforcement.

“It’s going to take the whole community working together,” Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said.

Three lives have been claimed by gun violence since Dec. 30 in Natchez and Adams County.

Law enforcement officials frequently say little help in solving cases comes from those who have valuable information. Patten said, however, if local residents want to make their community safer, they have to take action.

“We need to stop living by this code of stop snitching,” he said. “We need citizens to break that wall down. With every generation that comes up, the regard for life seems to be diminishing. People seem to be so quick to get a gun and put a bullet in you and be done with it.

“That’s not how you solve problems.”

A better way

Much of the gun violence the area sees, Patten said, is either related to domestic feuds or specifically targets a person — often a young, black man — in the pursuit of “street justice.”

A step toward teaching those who are quick to resort to violence to solve a problem comes with the betterment of the local education system and community outreach, Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell said.

“Personally, I think education is very important in terms of helping to reduce crime in your community,” Grennell said. “If you can keep kids in school, properly educate them and reduce the drop-out rate and give kids things to do recreationally … we’re talking about a really big picture when it comes to reducing crime in our community.”

The first step in creating change in young people’s lives is talking to them, Ward 1 Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis said.

The longtime alderwoman said over the years, city officials and residents have had multiple discussions about ways to stop violence.

“But I don’t think we’ve ever involved children,” she said.

Arceneaux-Mathis said she would like to see government officials and residents from all walks of life, including young people and senior citizens, participate in a series of meetings over the next few months to talk about ways to curb crime.

“This situation is going to affect everybody,” she said. “One of (our) charges as aldermen is to make sure people feel safe.”

Working together

Reducing crime in a city takes a multi-faceted approach from various entities and community members, Natchez Police Chief Daniel White said.

That starts with the Natchez Police Department and the Adams County Sheriff’s Office working together, White said.

The two agencies recently joined forces for Operation United Front, which resulted in 11 arrests in Natchez and Adams County.

White and Patten said they plan to continue such teamwork, as well as form a stronger partnership with surrounding counties and parish law enforcement agencies.

Patten said ACSO and NPD representatives would meet this week for a “Miss-Lou intel sharing meeting” with Vidalia Police Department and Concordia Parish and Franklin County sheriff’s offices.

“We want to share information on cases, so we can help get these things solved,” Patten said. “Our focus remains on Adams County, but some people who are not from here will come here to commit a crime then try to run back over the (county) line and get away with it. We’re not going to allow that.”

Along with teamwork, Patten and White stressed the importance of police working with residents to solve crimes.

A key to strengthening that partnership is Neighborhood Watch programs, Patten and White said.

Arceneaux-Mathis said government officials could play a part by helping residents form Neighborhood Watch programs in their various wards and districts.

“I had a woman tell me that she moved here because she felt safe, and her house got broken into in the middle of the day when she was home,” Arceneaux-Mathis said. “That’s scary. I suggested to her that we try to make sure we establish a Neighborhood Watch program in her area.”

Arceneaux-Mathis said she recently talked to the police chief about re-establishing defunct Neighborhood Watch programs and creating programs in areas that have not historically had them. She asks any residents interested in participating in Neighborhood Watch in Ward 1 to email her at Jmathis@natchez.ms.us.

In addition to making sure residents and law enforcement officers are working together, Arceneaux-Mathis said the police department’s efforts need to be strengthened, particularly by addressing short staffing and frequent turnover.

White recently requested permission from the Natchez Board of Aldermen to hire additional officers.

City Clerk Melissa Hawk said the money for officers is not in the budget, and the aldermen are still exploring ways to fund the positions.

Arceneaux-Mathis said she thinks money to adequately staff NPD and pay officers enough so they won’t leave for higher-paying jobs will eventually have to come from raising taxes.

The mayor recently suggested the city could pay for more police officers with additional revenue that is expected from gaming this year.

Arceneaux-Mathis said she does not think that is a good idea.

“We want to have a stable funding source for these regular recurring expenses,” she said. “We don’t want to hire anybody based on casino money, because it might not always be available.”

Arceneaux-Mathis said the city could raise taxes to fund more police officers and firefighters and earmark the money so it is only used for that specific purpose.

The board of aldermen has not initiated the process of looking at raising taxes, Arceneaux-Mathis said, because the city has struggled with having a clear picture of its finances in the past.

“We wanted to make sure we got our financial house in order … before we come to the public and say, ‘Well, now we want to raise taxes because we want to put more police and (firefighters) on the street,’” she said.

In the meantime, White said Natchez could see a reduction in its crime by taking relatively simple actions including improving street lighting and talking to neighbors.

“Organize and join a neighborhood watch group,” he said. “Talk to your neighbor, get to know the people in your neighborhood. … Learn the normal happenings of your neighborhood to know when something is wrong.”

Patten encourages anyone who has knowledge or witnesses any type of crime to contact law enforcement.

“If you know something or see something, say something,” he said.