Lagniappe Mobile Blog

The recent crime spree in Mobile has a lot of people, particularly some of my brethren in the news media, pointing the finger at downtown and it’s nearby neighborhoods. And yes, there have been some crimes in my Oakleigh neighborhood and in downtown, but it’s happening all over town. In my latest column I talk about this situation. The Loop has been hard hit, and there have even been holdups in tony Spring Hill. People try to keep it quiet.

I know the company line at City Hall is that crime really hasn’t risen, but I’m not buying that. Maybe the number of armed robberies is the same, but no one cares when someone hanging out at a juke joint on Michigan Avenue at midnight gets robbed. When it’s the Blockbuster at the Loop that’s held up, that’s another story.

The cops I’ve talked to all say they need more help. More people patrolling. That’s the answer. Stop the stupid roadblocks and trying to catch people with expired insurance, and patrol more. Get more guys and gals out there with handcuffs, tasers and pistols. That’s what we need.

By now, everyone is familiar with the increase of police roadblocks in the area.

The evening of Saturday, March 8, I saw six police cars, a greater number of officers, a generator and high-intensity light in the lot on the northeast corner of Broad and Government. One officer was checking licenses and insurance on all westbound traffic while his compatriots milled about the vacant lot.

A similar operation was set-up just beyond the exit of the Bankhead Tunnel catching eastbound traffic on the Causeway.

The next day, I saw eight officers with an equal number of cruisers engaged in the same operation at the intersection of Upham and Old Shell in Midtown. Fifteen minutes later, I spied a line of police cruisers headed east on Government, no doubt in route to a similar operation elsewhere in town.

I appreciate the argument in favor of such activities but have to wonder if this is the best use of manpower while Mobile is currently undergoing a spike in violent crimes and robberies. Is there nothing else these officers could be doing to make their presence more well known and widespread throughout the community, especially in regard to curtailing more dangerous activity?

I know of one business owner in the Loop who bent my ear last week about the anxiety caused from the recent rash of robberies in that area. I feel she would be none-too-pleased to pass through one of these roadblocks while she spends every night wondering if she is going to be next up on the “armed robbery hit parade.”