Pine Bluff Police Tackle Rising Property Crimes

Rising crime in Pine Bluff could be on its way back down. But not before property crime increased by 39 percent this year compared to the same three months of last year. In front of Southeast Engravers` brand-new window is a covering of expanded metal. "I don`t really like the idea of having to do it, but if that`s what it takes," says owner Thom Brown. That`s not all it`s take to protect this business from more break-ins. "The glass and metal together [cost] about $1200," he said. Brown says he`s spent about $5,000 on other improvements including adding exterior lighting to the front and back of his business. Theives only got away with $7 during his last burglary two months ago. "We have a jail down the street that doesn`t have metal on their windows to keep people in, but we have to put metal on our windows to keep people out," Brown said. For the 1st quarter of 2004, there were oer 1,300 property crimes in Pine Bluff. For the same time period of 2005, there were over 1,700, an increase of over 33 percent. Several downtown businesses were on track to leave if those numbers didn`t improve. "Business burglaries we`ve had a steady decline over the last three months," said Lt. Robert Rawlinson, Pine Bluff Police Department. Police say special details have already started catching the crooks. "We`ve cleared 80 burglaries and made at least 19 arrests. That doesn`t count the ones me made today," said Rawlinson. Since January, business burglaries have gone down, but residential burlgaries are still ticking upward. "We`re still having these people out at the odd hours when these burglaries seem to be happening," he said. Business owners have also taken it upon themselves to look out for burglars. The Downtwon Merchants Neighborhood Watch meets every month with police to discuss progress.