Mark Tyson
Member
11/26/2003 - Ark. Police Say Arsonists Attacked Neighborhood Center in Retaliation for Crime Alerts
By The Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Little Rock police say arsonists are targeting neighborhood alert centers to punish those working to rid the areas of crime.
Three downtown Little Rock alert centers have burned since early October.
Police said Tuesday that they are increasing patrols around the city's 15 centers and asking residents to keep a look out for problems.
"The criminals will not run us out of there...If we have to operate out of a van, we'll be there. We'll be coming even harder," said Terry Hastings, spokesman for the Little Rock Police Department.
The centers, which include a housing inspection office, are each staffed by at least one police officer.
Barbara Hyatt, neighborhood programs manager for the center, said police have shut down crack house and arrested drug dealers in the neighborhoods.
"It probably would make some people upset," she said.
A fire destroyed the East of Broadway Alert Center on Oct. 7. Five weeks later, the East End Alert Center was leveled in a blaze. On Sunday, a fire caused minor damage at the temporary Broadway center.
Despite the fires, some residents said they will continue to fight crime in their neighborhoods.
"They don't scare me because I read (the Bible)," said 74-year-old Doris Winfrey, who lives two blocks from one of the centers.
Moris' son is a police officer.
"They're angry because he's trying to clean up 21st Street," she said
By The Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Little Rock police say arsonists are targeting neighborhood alert centers to punish those working to rid the areas of crime.
Three downtown Little Rock alert centers have burned since early October.
Police said Tuesday that they are increasing patrols around the city's 15 centers and asking residents to keep a look out for problems.
"The criminals will not run us out of there...If we have to operate out of a van, we'll be there. We'll be coming even harder," said Terry Hastings, spokesman for the Little Rock Police Department.
The centers, which include a housing inspection office, are each staffed by at least one police officer.
Barbara Hyatt, neighborhood programs manager for the center, said police have shut down crack house and arrested drug dealers in the neighborhoods.
"It probably would make some people upset," she said.
A fire destroyed the East of Broadway Alert Center on Oct. 7. Five weeks later, the East End Alert Center was leveled in a blaze. On Sunday, a fire caused minor damage at the temporary Broadway center.
Despite the fires, some residents said they will continue to fight crime in their neighborhoods.
"They don't scare me because I read (the Bible)," said 74-year-old Doris Winfrey, who lives two blocks from one of the centers.
Moris' son is a police officer.
"They're angry because he's trying to clean up 21st Street," she said
