City commission holds frank discussion of crime

Jun. 3—During the Brunswick City Commission's discussion of its proposed 2022-2023 budget, commissioners held a frank discussion with Brunswick Police Chief Kevin Jones about gang-related crime in the city.

Of the total $18.6 million budget, 31%, the largest single share of expenditures, is listed as going to police.

Despite the large slice of the budget allotted to the Brunswick Police Department, it is in the midst of a prolonged staffing shortage.

Jones told the commission at its Wednesday meeting that he had 36 sworn officers on staff with three undergoing training and two scheduled for the next training class, leaving the BPD at 50% capacity.

Looking at the numbers, Commissioner Johnny Cason suggested that a new compensation package for police officers would not be enough in light of inflation and that the budget should include higher salaries.

City Manager Regina McDuffie, however, said the BPD's current salaries, along with housing stipends and signing bonuses for new officers included in the new compensation package, are competitive. Officer pay has increased 35% in the last two years, she said, along with the other incentives.

It's a multifaceted issue not limited to salary, she said. The city is competitive, and her department is looking at other ways to reinvigorate recruitment.

"We are looking at other methods, we're looking at our benefits and there are some proposals that may be coming forth," McDuffie said.

The city is also in the process of evaluating police equipment and working conditions within the department to see if improvements can be made, she said.

If pay isn't an issue, Commissioner Felicia Harris said there must be an underlying issue or issues causing the staffing shortage. She also said recent shootings were the result of a "deeper rooted problem that's going on in this community that we can throw money at and still won't solve...possible among them being "different persons migrating from other areas ... moving into the housing area with relatives and girlfriends and whomever else."

Jones did not comment on either but added that crime was up by 12% in 2021 over 2020, largely due to gangs.

"The organization, structure of gangs, they have leaders from Savannah, Jacksonville, that are over gangs here," Jones said. "They're run now like the mafia of the '20s and '30s. It's all about money now. You don't see them standing on street corners with a bandana hanging out of the back pocket or tied around their neck. It's not that way anymore."

Gangs are involved in nearly everything, he said, from low-level crimes, like stealing from unlocked cars, all the way up to recent shootings, he said. With so few officers, Jones said the department can barely answer all the calls it receives, much less take proactive crime prevention measures.

He used a metaphor of a snake biting its own tail to describe the situation. An officer gets tired of working excessive overtime and leaves the department, which puts more stress on remaining officers and makes them more likely to leave.

The department is in an all-hands-on-deck situation, he explained. Command staff, including himself, work night, day and weekend shifts, Jones said, even with additional assistance from the Glynn County Police Department.

Neighborhood planning groups and watches are extremely helpful, he said. Via those organizations, police officers get more familiar with residents, who are then more likely to report crimes and provide information. It's part of a larger law enforcement philosophy called community policing.

The BPD has worked to enact community policing with bicycle patrols and "talking to granny on the sidewalk" and getting to know people, Jones said.

"That's how you stop crime, not running from call to call to all and filing 15 reports a night," Jones said.

Harris said she believed average citizens could help police catch more gang members by providing as much information as possible if they're in the vicinity or witness a crime.

"I'm frustrated. I know the community's frustrated ... it's tiring, really. It's not anything against the police department. We've got to wake up as well and be proactive in reporting information," Harris said.

She clarified that she wasn't suggesting citizens should be heroes or "lone vigilantes," but that anyone can take pictures of the tags of vehicles potentially involved in crimes or give descriptions of suspected perpetrators.

Cason didn't disagree with Harris' points, but he returned to his earlier thought that the city needs to invest more money to hire officers and buy new equipment.

He mentioned the funds allotted to economic development and planning and zoning, suggesting both categories could be trimmed to make more available to the police.

"Somewhere you're going to have to look through this thing and figure out where we're going to get the money to fund the full police department," Cason said.

Mayor Cosby Johnson asked Cason to suggest specific cuts, which Cason deferred to the city manager, saying the cuts were there "without a doubt."

Along with pay increases, McDuffie said she's working with the police to make sure that when cases are brought forward, they're properly litigated and criminals are put away.

The commission heard presentations on other parts of the budget before closing the public hearing.

Roughly $11.86 million of the total budget goes to personnel salaries. Revenue comes largely from property and sales taxes — 37% and 42%, respectively. The rest comes from other sources of revenue.

Immediately under police costs is general administration at 16%, the Brunswick Fire Department at 15%, with the remaining 37% split between public works, parks and recreation, planning and development, government administration and "other."

Commissioners also heard a request to use a building at 1327 Union St. to house a Gullah Geechee heritage museum, dubbed Windsward Gullah Geechee Family Preservation Museum.

Delores Polite, who runs Windsward of Georgia, a local organization dedicated to helping at-risk individuals, said she was amazed to learn how deep her family roots run in the area. Her family tree is broad, and while there are some gaps that can't be filled with documentation, she can feel a strong connection to the area and Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation.

In the process of her discovering her family, Polite said she believes many Black families are related and may not know it because of their last names, which in some cases were taken by slaves from different masters.

"That's what Windsward is interested in doing, putting that family back together," Polite said.

The museum would be an anchor point for the Black population native to Glynn County, connecting them to their own histories. Some donations of art and artifacts are already lined up, Polite said.

It's not just about preserving the past but the present as well, Polite said.

Attending the meeting were the parents of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man murdered while jogging through a neighborhood just outside the city limits.

Johnson thanked Polite for both preserving the history of the area and for bringing the idea forward, which could bring many people to the area who are interested in history, he said. The next step would be to have the Downtown Development Authority draw up a contract for use of the building, he said.

The commission also discussed making appointments to the Downtown Development Authority and Brunswick-Glynn Economic Development Authority.

None of the potential appointees were Brunswick residents, which did not sit well with Johnson. He wanted the city to be represented on all of the various local boards and committees in the area.

While he asked his fellow commissioners to consider delaying the action, they ultimately voted to appoint Bill Dawson and Christy Jordan, both residents of St. Simons Island, to the development authority.