VIOLENT CRIME TROUBLES DELTA LAW ENFORCEMENT

CLEVELAND - Since the New Year, authorities in Bolivar and Washington
counties say they have seen seven homicides and numerous violent crimes,
including stabbings and beatings, and attempted kidnappings.

With violent crime on the apparent upswing in the usually safe, peaceful
Mississippi Delta, members of the Bolivar County Sheriff's Department
pondered the question, "Why is crime getting so bad?"

Delta law enforcement officials are aggressively looking at ways to reverse
a troubling trend in violent crime.

However, Bolivar County Sheriff H.M. "Mack" Grimmett doesn't lay all the
blame on parents, but pointed to a lack of parental control as a main
factor in the proliferation of violent criminals.

"Parents can't wait until their child is 15 or 16 before they try and
control them," Grimmett said Wednesday. "Nowadays, many parents are afraid
of their children."

Meanwhile, Bolivar County Sheriff's Department Investigator Murray Roark
pointed out that crime as a whole, from shootings to kidnappings, is on the
rise. He cited insufficient morals as a reason for the increase in youthful
offenders.

"I think it's getting to where kids are not being taught right from wrong,"
Roark said. "Kids just don't have any respect."

Gerald Wesley, another investigator with the Sheriff's Department, points
to a sharp increase in drug use as a key element into violent crime. He
said that during his 16-year career with the Sheriff's Department, he has
seen a "75 percent" increase in drug presence and usage.

"I picked up a young boy (Tuesday night) who literally cussed me out,"
Wesley said. "It's everybody, not just one race that's doing it."

Grimmett agreed, saying a lack of respect for the criminals' parents, law
enforcement and school officials are a prime reason why children turn to crime.

"Parents expect law enforcement and the school system to take care of the
kids," Grimmett said. "Unless we - parents, churches and law enforcement -
get involved, nothing is going to get better."

In the last month, Cleveland has seen two shootings, one resulting in the
death of an 18-year-old Mound Bayou high school senior and the other
leaving a Cleveland woman in critical condition.

In Greenville, there have been five reported homicides since January - four
in the past two months.