Lincoln constituent and Police Chief share frustrations over new “NO Cash Bail” laws

 

[November 12, 2024] 

At the Tuesday night committee of the whole meeting of the Lincoln City Council, Police Chief Joe Meister, Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch, and Lincoln aldermen heard from and interacted with Lincoln Resident Mark Dooling. All those involved expressed the same frustrations. Crime is on the rise in Lincoln and the LPD is hog-tied to a state law that prevents them from arresting and detaining alleged criminals.

During public participation, Mark Doolin came to the speakers table and that he sees that crime is on the rise in the city, and yet it seems that those responsible are getting little more than a slap on the wrist, then are being turned loose to do it again.

He said he wanted to know what the city could do about it, and what could citizens do about it. He asked if Neighborhood Watch programs would help and could the city get some started. Doolin shared that he had been a victim and had also experienced from retaliation damage to his vehicle when he tried to be proactive against the people who were stealing from him and others in his neighborhood.

Mayor Welch said that Doolin was not alone in this frustration. He said as mayor he feels the same, and the issue is not the Lincoln Police Department. He said that the LPD is working within the confines of the new state laws, and that none of this “sits well” with the city or the LPD. He added that he has talked with Police Chief Joe Meister about utilization of Neighborhood watch campaigns. Welch said he would yield to the chief to speak further on the issue.

Chief Meister began by saying he appreciated Doolin and those who had accompanied him to the meeting for speaking out about this situation. He said that the issue though is that the city of Lincoln PD has no control over detention of criminals thanks to the “Safety Act.”

He said that the issue is that alleged criminals cannot be detained without certain criteria being met. He said that in order to detain a suspect, the police have to present proof that is in essence “beyond reasonable doubt” as to the guilt of a suspect. This same evidence then has to be presented to the presiding authorities each step of the way through the prosecution process, and if that presiding authority does not agree that the evidence is beyond reasonable doubt, then the suspect can still be released.

Meister said what does happen is that the evidence can be presented, and the judge for example at the initial hearing will review the evidence, then place “conditions” on the release of the suspect. If the suspect then goes out and commits another crime and is apprehended by the police, the officers can determine if conditions have been broken, and then that is cause for detention until the suspect can go before a judge.

Meister explained the judicial three-prong approach to detention. When a suspect goes before a judge, the judge can detain the suspect if the situation meets one of three criteria.

The first is that there is “clear, convincing evidence” that is higher than Probable Cause.

The second, if the suspect is a clear threat to an individual or to society.

And the third is if the judge can find no allowable conditions to apply to the release that will stop future offenses.

Meister said that he and the LPD entirely feel the frustrations of Doolin, but that the issue is not with the city, it is with the governor and state legislators who permitted this kind of law to be put into effect.

Alderman Kevin Bateman also spoke, repeating words he has said many times. “Don’t put it on facebook.” He said that recording or reporting a crime on facebook does not equate to calling the police in spite of what some people may think. He said that if you are a witness or a victim the very best thing to do is call the police, report the incident and let officers respond.

Bateman went on to say that he feels the government doesn’t care at all about what an impact this change in law has made.

Meister spoke again saying he was completely in favor of neighborhood watches, but those are something that the LPD cannot implement. Citizens must be willing and able to put together their own watches.

Meister suggested that all citizens look into doorbell cameras or other security cams on their personal property, they should put strong locks on sheds and outbuildings, and use motion detection lighting.

Welch said that the main message for all Lincoln residents would be “look out for one another.” He added that it is important that residents observe and report but do not take matters into their own hands. He said he hated to see good citizens in trouble because they took action instead of calling the police.

Welch added that he supported neighborhood watches and that he would help with those as well.

Alderman Steve Parrott asked if there was a way to identify repeat offenders and perhaps publish their photos and names on the city website as people to watch out for. City Attorney John Hoblit was asked to weigh in on that, but Hoblit said he wasn’t clear on what parrott was wanting. He said there are police reports that are published and that the city department submits a monthly report that is placed on the website.

Welch said that he was sure that arrest records and photos were “FOIA-able” (freedom of Information Act).

Alderwoman Wanda Lee Rohlfs said she was sure other towns were as frustrated as Lincoln. She wondered if there could be a coalition that could become proactive in getting the laws changed.

Meister said that he didn’t often express political views in the workplace, but he would say that one of the best defenses and proactive actions is to vote for the right state leaders. He said citizens should also reach out to our local state representatives such as Senator Sally Turner and State Representative Bill Hauter.

Meister had also said that the LPD was going to be working with the local Crime Stoppers. He said that entity has run out of money and need financial support in order to continue paying out for anonymous tips regarding local crimes. He intends to put up a sign at the Lincoln Police Department in support of Crime Stoppers.

Alderwoman Robbin McClallen asked if there were signs that could be put up at the entries to the city showing that the city supports Crime Stoppers. Meister said that if there was money for the signs, he would certainly look into it.

Parrott asked how the data was recorded for Lincoln crime rate. He wondered if people were being released and let go and the cases ended in no conviction how did that impact the crime rate figures.

Meister said he didn’t have a clear answer for that. He did say that there is a data collection done through NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting System) which is a division of the FBI.

According to the NIBRS website: “Implemented to improve the overall quality of crime data collected by law enforcement, NIBRS captures details on each single crime incident—as well as on separate offenses within the same incident—including information on victims, known offenders, relationships between victims and offenders, arrestees, and property involved in crimes.

“Unlike data reported through the UCR Program’s traditional Summary Reporting System (SRS)—an aggregate monthly tally of crimes—NIBRS goes much deeper because of its ability to provide circumstances and context for crimes like location, time of day, and whether the incident was cleared.

“When used to its full potential, NIBRS identifies, with precision, when and where crime takes place, what form it takes, and the characteristics of its victims and perpetrators. Armed with such information, law enforcement can better define the resources it needs to fight crime, as well as use those resources in the most efficient and effective manner.”

The discussion moved on to the local States Attorney as Meister said that party was responsible for setting the evidence that would warrant detention. That evidence would then go to a judge who would determine whether or not what had been supplied was sufficient.

It was then suggested that perhaps someone should encourage the State’s Attorney to be more aggressive. Meister said that he would say that the Logan County State’s Attorney is already doing the best of jobs. He said the State’s Attorney and the local judges are already aggressive and he feels they do all that they can within the law. The problem is the law itself, not the people trying to follow and enforce it.

As the discussion wound down, Welch asked about recovery of stolen items. Meister said that the LPD has recovered so many stolen items that it is running out of room to store it all. Victims should take heart that a lot of these stolen items are being recovered. It is also a lesson for those who have items stolen and don’t report it because they assume that it will never be recovered. Meister said items are being recovered all the time, so if something goes missing, please report it.

Another suggestion made was that neighborhoods become more social. Know your neighbors by name and sight. Get out and shake hands with folks so that when you will know it when you see people in your neighborhood that don’t belong.

[Nila Smith]