“Preventing Crime; The Community’s Business”
January 2006

We often hear about “crimes of opportunity”. Crimes of opportunity are unplanned crimes…a criminal sees a chance to get away with something and does it. I would argue, however, that crime generally occurs because of a lack of opportunity.

So, to prevent crime rather than react to it we must make it our business…the community’s business…to make as many opportunities available to our citizens as we can.

We need to protect the good, well-paying jobs and support the existing businesses in Pine Bluff that provide them …large and small. We need to recruit to Pine Bluff and support any businesses that might bring new jobs to our residents. We need to support our entrepreneurs with every available resource…and I think we have a promising start on that with UAPB’s Small Business Incubator.

To support existing and potential businesses and new and better jobs, we need to equip and enable our community’s students to take better advantage of the educational opportunities available in this college town, this UNIVERSITY town.

We have to start recognizing and appreciating the symbiotic relationship between education and business. New businesses won’t come to Pine Bluff and existing businesses won’t stay if we don’t have a crop sharp, educated young people produced in Pine Bluff every year. Our graduates won’t stay if they don’t see good paying jobs and a high quality of life on their horizons. Even worse, some students might decide school is not worth finishing if there is nothing positive…no opportunities…waiting for them upon graduation. Some of these young Pine Bluffians…if we don’t intervene as a community will, of course, choose the left hand path, the path of darkness, self-destruction and crime.

But if we resolve…if we make it our community’s business…to create and support sustainable opportunity for Pine Bluffians, to show everyone in this community that he or she has a stake, a vital interest in this city’s future, then preventing and reducing crime will become a reality.

Thank you.