Unit to target Little Rock crime said to take shape

Officials say they are making progress on putting together an investigative force aimed at stemming violent crime in Little Rock, an effort that will include federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

The joint task force was announced Thursday by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, days after more than two dozen people were wounded in a shooting at a downtown Little Rock nightclub. Hutchinson said Tuesday that the investigative force will be at a "co-location" where officials can share intelligence and target violent offenders.

Lt. Steve McClanahan, a Little Rock police spokesman, said the investigative force is expected to be made up of 15 to 20 officials from various agencies. The Little Rock Police Department, Pulaski County sheriff's office, Arkansas State Police and the FBI are among the agencies participating in the investigative force.

"It doesn't happen overnight when you involve multiple agencies," McClanahan said.

Yet, he said the formation of the force is well in motion, and the group will be a full-time job for the Little Rock police officials assigned to it.

Where the group will be housed will be decided soon, McClanahan said.

Maj. Carl Minden, spokesman for the Pulaski County sheriff's office, said the task force organization is moving forward, but it often takes some time to gather resources and figure out logistics for an investigative force.

"It's just a matter of time," he said.

The announcement of the joint investigative group came after 25 people were shot and wounded at the Power Ultra Lounge early on July 1. Three others were injured while trying to exit the nightclub, police reported. The shooting, which drew national attention, occurred as Little Rock has seen a surge in violent crime compared with this time last year.

Police logged 1,811 violent crimes -- homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault -- this year in Little Rock as of July 3, a 25 percent increase over what police reported during the same period last year, according to preliminary department data.

Hutchinson spoke about Little Rock crime during an appearance Tuesday at the Rotary Club of Little Rock, mentioning the joint investigative force and emphasizing the need for the state to act in a support role in helping fight Little Rock crime.

The state role, he said, is not to supplant the city.

"We simply want to back them up and assist in any way that we can," he said, addressing the crowd at the Clinton Presidential Center.

Hutchinson said the investigative force will allow officials to work side by side and make arrests.

"It's not a thinking task force. It's not a task force of community leaders to think about the problem," he said.

Speaking with reporters afterward, Hutchinson said state and federal agencies can provide broader intelligence and targeting capabilities, but a lot hinges on the work of Little Rock police.

"The key, of course, is the intelligence that we have at the street level from the Little Rock Police Department," he said.

State police and the FBI have supported operations in other Arkansas cities, Hutchinson said, and Little Rock should be supported in the same way.

Addressing the crowd, Hutchinson also spoke about the need to have more intensive supervision and monitoring of parolees -- in particular, people who have been released from prison and "may have a history of gang affiliation."

Hutchinson said he also has directed Alcoholic Beverage Control to have a more aggressive initiative for clubs in central Arkansas, specifically making sure the establishments comply with closing times, he said.

Mary Robin Casteel, director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration Division, said the agency is looking into issuing more suspension penalties and revocation penalties.

Revoking or suspending an alcohol permit has not been used much in the past, she said, mentioning that those penalties have the potential to put a establishment out of business.

Yet according to Casteel, the low fines for an alcohol violation have not forced habitual offenders to change their ways, in some cases.

Metro on 07/12/2017