A group of downtown business owners recently met with Interim Police Chief Joey Head to discuss their concerns over a rise of burglaries, particularly on Main Street during the early morning hours.
A few businesses in the downtown area of Yazoo City were burglarized and vandalized last week, with one new business reporting about $6,000 worth of inventory being stolen.
Many downtown businesses have resorted to using their own surveillance systems since the city-owned camera system within the area appears to not be working. In fact, some business owners said when they have approached the police department in the past, they were told the officers “didn’t know how to work” the camera system.
Pat Anderson, owner of Anderson’s Jewelry, first appeared before the Board of Mayor and Aldermen during its Monday meeting. She relied on her and another business owner’s video surveillance system to determine that the night of the attempted burglary on her business, there were no police officers present at any time.
“The surveillance is pretty clear that there is no police presence downtown,” Anderson said. “They got spooked when they broke the glass. We just need to work together to have police presence downtown. You can review the footage. There are too many hours where you can see that there were no police down there at all. It is very concerning to me as a taxpayer, and as a business owner.”
Anderson said she has done everything in her power to protect her business, such as installing bars and cages.
“We have done everything we possibly can, but we have got to have police protection,” she said. “It is not just for me. It’s for all of Main Street, all over the community. I know that you have a lot of issues with the police with a lot of turnovers, but we are all looking forward to working with the new police chief.”
Two days later, a meeting was arranged with Head and several downtown business owners. Store owners said there is simply too much activity occurring in the downtown area during the early morning hours. One merchant said from 2 a.m. until 5 a.m. was “a hot zone.” Based on video footage from some stores, there have also been recordings of what appear to be juveniles on bicycles, carrying backpacks with crowbars hanging out of them, during the early morning hours.
Head said there is little he can do to enforce a curfew within the community. However, the city council has implemented a 9 p.m. curfew as part of their COVID ordinances, which has been in place for over a year.
As part of his newly-appointed position, Head said he intends to increase his officers’ presence in the downtown area, and really, within all business areas of the city.
“I am going to make sure we are going to be visible than before,” Head said. “We are not fully staffed, but we are getting there. If we are constantly seen in the area, these guys who are thinking of doing something will move on because they don’t know when we are coming back through the area. When the town shuts down, we have to pay attention to the business areas.”
Head said he currently has 16 officers on his force. He would like to have seven more.
Several downtown merchants said that they were not having many problems during normal business hours. But it is during the early morning hours when the majority acts of burglaries and vandalism occur.
Several business owners asked about the status of the city-owned camera system in the downtown area. Mayor Diane Delaware said the city is trying to bring in technical support to look at the camera system.
The camera system was first placed in the downtown area in 2007. The $75,000 project was part of a Mississippi Development Authority grant. The cameras were built with bulletproof casings and recorded at all times. The footage can be recorded for up to 30 days. At that point, the footage is burned to a disc for storage.
The Yazoo City Police Department controls the functions of the cameras, including rotation and zooming. The late Larry Adams, former dispatch supervisor, said the cameras had the capability to record a car tag from a mile away. The footage could even be used in court cases.
However, the system has not been property updated, maintained or even used for the last few years.
