Task force arrests 16 people on initial outing

During its inaugural outing last weekend, the Southeast Missouri Street Crimes Task Force arrested 16 people and issued 25 citations, the Cape Girardeau Police Department reported Thursday.

The task force, the brainchild of Cape Girardeau police chief Wes Blair and Sikeston, Missouri, police chief Drew Juden, brings together officers from four Southeast Missouri communities -- Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff and Charleston -- to target areas of each town with heavy concentrations of gun violence.

Blair said offenders move from town to town, so police in the four communities often find themselves dealing with the same suspects.

By pooling their resources, they hope to drive those offenders out of the area, he said.

On April 25, the task force focused on a part of Cape Girardeau that has seen an unusually high number of gun crimes.

Darin Hickey, public information officer for the Cape Girardeau Police Department, said officers arrested suspects on outstanding warrants, drug violations, DWI and a host of misdemeanors.

"Drugs and violence are tied hand-in-hand," Hickey said.

In addition to making arrests, police talked to residents in the area and educated them about the purpose of the task force, he said.

Hickey said once people understood why the officers were there, the response was generally positive.

"We explained to them and said, 'Hey, we're not out here to write speeding tickets. We're here to deter violent crimes.' ... We had real good response once people realized that's what we're out here doing," he said.

Police presence serves as a deterrent to crime, Hickey said. "The word gets around pretty quickly that there's a whole bunch of cops. ... What are the chances of a criminal seeing a cop standing right beside him, and him stealing a lady's purse?" he said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, MO