Joplin police chief candidates speak with residents

Aug. 22—Two questions were the most commonly asked by residents who spoke Tuesday with four contenders for the position of Joplin's next police chief.

Those were about the approaches the candidates would take to reduce crime, and how they would deal with crimes and nuisances created by people who are homeless.

Each of the four candidates was given time to talk about their careers and qualifications to an audience at City Hall before separating to different tables to speak with residents.

Joplin city officials are hosting the candidates to select a successor to Chief Sloan Rowland. He retired June 1 after a 35-year career in law enforcement including 20 years at the Joplin Police Department. He was named Joplin police chief in 2019.

Assistant Chief Brian Lewis, who now serves as interim chief, is among the final four along with Richard Pearson, captain of the Jefferson County (Kentucky) School System Police Department; Philip Lukens, police chief of Alliance, Nebraska; and Jeffrey Lofton, police chief for the city of Clever in Christian County, Missouri.

Pearson previously was an assistant professor of criminal justice in Indiana. Before that, he rose through the ranks to that of lieutenant of the Louisville Metro Police Department between 1993 and 2015. He was commander there of the Clandestine Meth Lab Response Team and patrol commander at that department.

He told residents that many homeless people are experiencing mental illness or drug addiction. He said he would work with other local agencies to provide basic services to the homeless population. "Instead of having all these homeless camps in bushes and behind shrubs and in dangerous places, we would want to get them into a part of town where they could be safe and where they could be together so we could provide them services," such as places to shower and get haircuts and receive food or meals, and mental health services.

Lofton, a former Christian County patrol division commander who has completed multiple FBI executive training schools, said few people who are homeless come to Clever. He said 15 miles away, Springfield has a homeless population, and community groups and donors are providing for them. In some cities, he said, a police officer will take a homeless person to the next community and drop them off. But he prefers to provide services to them.

"I think community engagement, utilizing your resources that you have available helps a lot," he said. "This isn't something you can just arrest away and it's going away. It's going to exist. It's not just a police problem."

Lukens, who has been police chief in Alliance for the past two years and who formerly was a police officer in Louisville, Colorado, and Erie, Colorado, was asked by a resident about the "broken window theory." That theory suggests that when small problems are overlooked, they get worse over time leading to drugs, mental illness, homelessness and other issues. How would Lukens handle the enforcement side of those problems?

Lukens said that when he went to Alliance, it was rated as one of the worst 10 cities in Nebraska because of crime. He brought in community programs to deal with problems. "There are issues that need to be dealt with working with the nonprofits and churches and all the other organizations" that can work with people. Results often are better with minor offenders going through restorative justice programs rather than court sentences, Lukens said.

Lewis said that sometimes crime and homelessness are interrelated, but "it's important to understand that just because someone is homeless doesn't mean they are committing a crime, but on the flip side of that, you want to take care of things that occur and hold people accountable when they cause those quality-of-life issues."

"When you have communities that are as generous as Joplin is," Lewis said, "it draws people in that are looking for assistance or help. Some of those people have a genuine goal of getting on their feet and getting into a stable environment. Others come just to take advantage of what's being offered by the community, and that's where you have issues come in."

City Manager Nick Edwards said Wednesday's agenda will involve job interviews with him, with the city's management team and department directors. They also will meet with representatives of some of the larger institutions, such as the Joplin School District, Missouri Southern State University, and with business leaders.

After that, there will be background checks and negotiations with the finalist.

"I'm optimistic that maybe next week we might be in a position to make an announcement" on who will be chief, Edwards said. "We hope the interviews go well and there is a clear choice."