Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Crime is WAY down in Ogden... Scout's Honor

Standard-Examiner publisher Lee Carter expesses his "special" Thanksgiving thanks for Ogden City's crime fighting team, Chief Greiner and Boss Godfrey

Just for sake of archival consistency, we'll highlight two items appearing in this morning's Standard-Examiner, which fall into the well-travelled Weber County Forum topic category, Godfrey the Crime Fighter.

First, the SE carries this front page Scott Schwebke story, wherein Chief Greiner pats himself on the back for a purported 23% crime reduction and then whines about Ogden's "parolee problem":
“It’s not fair to the citizens of this community,” Greiner said of the inordinate amount of parolees in the city. “It’s not fair to have to police them.”
And our readers won't want to miss this morning's Boss Godfrey guest commentary, wherein the Crime Fighter Hisself ushers himself into view, for a share of the spotlight:
I think Ogden's story is important because it tells other communities that the right plan and implementation can change the paradigm. One of the reasons I ran for this office was because a former city official told me that "you can't do anything to change crime. It has always occurred and always will."
I'm surprised at how many people really believe that, especially when there have been remarkable changes in other high-profile cities like New York City. Crime will always exist in New York City as it will in Ogden, but we can significantly reduce crime. In fact we have done so.
There will be some that won't believe that Ogden is as good as I'm painting it to be. To them I ask that they come to Ogden and see for themselves. Walk our streets and experience the change. There is much more for us to do in Ogden, but we are encouraged by the progress.
Mercifully, neither of these items is bogged down by charts, graphs or much in the way of verifiable substantive data. Godfrey has tried citing real data before of course, with very unfortunate results.

As for the SE's reason for the timing of these two articles, we can only speculate:

It's Thanksgiving eve, gentle readers... and SE Publisher Lee "Gondola Boy" Carter was perhaps overdue in expressing his perfunctory "special thanks." Perhaps these two items were stuck in a SE email inbox somewhere, since prior to the election.

And here's the truly sad part, we believe. With Boss Godfrey's long history of dissembling, spinning and prevaricating, even his remaining supporters don't know what to believe.

15 comments:

Bob Becker said...

While you're right to point out the fuzzy claims by Hizzonah --- we've been there before, as you note, Rudi --- Mr. Schwebke's story seems to me to be a lot less fuzzy than the Mayor's piece. It includes a comment from Council Chair Wicks [who cannot be dismissed as a Godfrey flack], suggesting the program has been effective, at least in the neighborhood it operates in. If the program has made, and continues to make, a difference in central Ogden neighborhood safety and in the lives of residents there, then we shouldn't be searching for ways to snark about it because credit might go to Chief Greiner. When he and his department do good stuff, we should just say so flat out.

Would I like to know more? Of course. With crime in particular, it is sometimes the case that reducing it in one neighborhood means simply that it has moved to another --- like squeezing a balloon: squeeze here, it bulges out there. That's something the paper ought to look into and report on, perhaps. But so far, this particular neighborhood program seems to be making a significant difference for people living in that neighborhood. And that's good. No ifs, ands or buts, it's just flat out good. And if Chief Greiner's been important in bringing it about, then good on 'im for that.

hi and lo said...

I live in that area and have not seen a reduction in crime. It does not feel safer to me as a resident (although I must admit crime in Ogden has never really made me feel threatened). Over the past couple of years there has been a lot of gang-related crime, particularly drive-by shootings and graffiti. Are those 2 crimes part of the reduction? My neighbors homes have been broken into and car windows have been smashed in. I have noticed more patrol cars over the recent past, which is nice, but I haven't seen a reduction in crime. Do any other East Central residents who read this forum feel the same? Just curious.

hi and low said...

Looks like someone else feels the way I do too:

Let's worry about guns and violence in Ogden

Ogden Res said...

Timing is everything.

It's good that Godfrey did this crowing now, after waiting for all the drive-by murders from this summer to subside.

Danny said...

Since Griener will be working the legislature in a couple of months, to allow him to keep doing his double dipping, he needed a few newspaper clippings in his pocket to show his colleagues the "value" of double dippers like himself.

Thanks to the S-E for complying.

Also, Griener needs to start working the city council in order to have them "primed" to pay his $250,000 fines for his Hatch Act violations.

What a guy. It's so nice too, to see that Godfrey thinks - yep - that Godfrey and his underlings are doing a good job. Thanks S-E, for letting him fill us in yet again.

Do you have the feeling that it's getting to where about the only person Godfrey has left to speak on his behalf, is himself?

Just a Cop said...

Hmmmm... Imagine how safe Ogden would be, if Boss Godfrey were to fill the 17 empty slots in the OPD.

bribes are legal!!!! said...

holy cow batman!
I'm so glad that the commissioner Gordon was right by the bat phone!
Now, we turn off the bat sign in the sky.

Machster said...

Seems that other cities have "Crime Tracker" on a website. You just put in your address and all the crimes color coated to show the different types of crime, pop up on the screen. You can select the dates you would like to see displayed for yourself.

Rapes, break-ins, burgularies, sex perverts, murder, robberies, drive-by shootings, etc. all selectable.

Seems to me that with a larger budget than any Utah city of similar size, (Same for the County) Ogden should have such information readily available. And if it does not exist, why does it not exist?

Could it be because Ogden is paying far far too much for its quadruple dipper Chief of Police and his cronies?

Or is it that the City has hired and continues to employ very weak IT people who have no clue about how to provide the information? Or just too damn lazy...

Either way Ogden seems about 25 years behind the Crime fighter curve with Jack Webb and Joe Friday still hammering away with 50's technology but driving high priced sports cars and fuel inefficient expensive pickup trucks. Now there is some real heady administration, thanks Chief Double Dipstick.

How about some grown up journalistic inquiry instead of fluff - "Oh ain't it just so wonderful" BS from the Standard Examiner for a change.

What is your role in the community SE? How about some leadership from the editors to get back to basics?

dead babies said...

The time we currently live in most likely has the lowest crime rate of any other time in human history.

Try living in 13th century Europe, and talk to me about crime.
You all complain about crime, and then go and break your own sub-set of laws.

Bob Becker said...

Dead Bs:

OK, fair is fair. I hereby agree and admit, in public, and on the record, that Mayor Matthew Godfrey's Ogden is a safer place to live than any town in 13th Century Europe. He should be so proud! With a record like that to brag on, why, if I were him, I'd alert the media.

Oh. Wait. He already has.

guys with badges said...

Do you think that the crime that Godfrey and his crone's commit are part of the crimes reported on the FBI reports. How about senator chief greiner?

Monotreme said...

Guys:

Fraud, embezzlement, intimidation, buttheadedness, and violations of the Hatch Act are not reportable crimes included in the Uniform Crime Report.

Elder Jensen said...

In my opinion, Mormons need to cast off their materialism, and get back to basics!

mark johnson said...

Ogden cops seeking three armed robbery suspects

By Bob Mims

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 12/02/2009 08:16:16 AM MST

Ogden police are looking for three gunmen who held up a restaurant late Tuesday and then fled into a nearby apartment complex.

Lt. Scott Sangberg said Wednesday that the suspects -- described as two 5-foot-8, thinly-built Latino men and one 5-foot-10 to 6-foot black man, all aged 18 to 20 years -- burst into a side door at Antonio's restaurant at 633 Washington Blvd. about 9:30 p.m.

The suspects wore black hooded sweatshirts cinched tightly around their faces. All three of the men also displayed black handguns, Sangberg said. The two Latino suspects held employees at gunpoint while the black suspect hopped over the counter and emptied the till of an unspecified amount of cash, investigators reported.

Police responded quickly to a 911 call and, using a search dog, tracked the suspects west of the restaurant into apartments in the area of 550 Grant. However, the dog then lost the scent. "That makes us believe the suspects may have fled from the area in a car," Sangberg said.

No shots were fired and no injuries were reported during the holdup.

made up name said...

Ex-employees, or boy friends of the same.

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