The Ouachita County Ministerial Alliance and The Village Council held a public briefing with Camden Mayor Charlotte Young on Nov. 25.
The public meeting was promoted as a "briefing concerning the selection of a new Chief of Police and other community matters."
The meeting opened with brief remarks from Bishop Jacovis Davis of Word Family Church who said he was a member of both The Village Council and the OCMA.
"We are being active in working alongside other community agents in our city to enhance and benefit and better our city and our community," he said. "We've heard from our community and they are concerned about things that are going on as well as in particular tonight our up-and-coming appointment of our new chief of police."
He went on to say, "One thing we advocate and promote is transparency of our government... That's one thing that we believe is necessary -- I think it helps not only our leadership, but it helps the relationship with our community."
"With the recent uptick of violence, we felt it was necessary to address omissions -- some of those things that are going on in our community and we talked with the mayor and she said she would be willing to do that -- to come and to give some updates and briefings on some things," Davis said. "Everybody's not on Facebook. So you know, we wanted the public to be able to have an opportunity to hear from the mayor in person."
Young began her briefing by saying she meets with OCMA and The Village Council regularly to speak about community concerns.
"The esteemed leaders that make up these groups are the very backbone of our community and part of what makes Camden so great," she said. "These men have my respect and admiration for their contribution and impact in the city of Camden."
"Tonight, I want to take a few moments of my time to share my heart," Young said. "Yes, I want to speak from the heart because like you, I love Camden with all my heart and I want to see it prosper and flourish just like you do."
The mayor went on to say she understands that what makes Camden great is its people.
"We have the best people that God's ever placed on planet Earth," she said. "I believe that Camden has a unique purpose and a God-given destiny and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Camden is meant to flourish and be strong. We're meant to have the strongest, safest, most prosperous community that's second to none... Because we have the people. We have the talent. We have the resources. We have the work ethic. We have a winning spirit and God given favor to accomplish anything. The people of Camden can win."
Young said Camden is "meant to win."
"We are meant to overcome every obstacle. And defeat every giant that says that we cannot unite -- that we can't prosper and that we cannot become The Shining City on a Hill spoken out in the scriptures," she said. "Simply put in my eyes, Camden is the finest place on Earth and we can overcome every obstacle."
Young went on to say she was asking the citizens for their help in overcoming the crime in the city.
"We also have evidence that there's still much work to be done here in Camden in the area of crime," she said. "We've already overcome so much. And so much potential and opportunity is in front of us. We must also overcome this challenge of crime. So what is crime exactly?
"It's when one person among us decides to harm another, whether it's through the distribution of drugs, acts of violence, intimidation, theft -- these are actions that show the worst of humanity. They're sins against our fellow man and they are never to be tolerated in a civil society.
"In order for us to achieve our purpose, we must have safety and stability of law and order -- equal protection for all."
Young said she has spoken with members of the community about their concerns.
"It is a great joy to me to be able to listen to our people," she said.
She said she has also spoken with families who are victims of crime.
"I've expressed our full support and our intentions to bring those responsible to Justice," she said. "Simply put, they gave me a mandate to stop the criminals and protect our citizens and I take that mandate extremely seriously."
"That's why tonight, the city of Camden is drawing a Line in the Sand," she said.
Young continued saying, "We've all watched as criminals have inflicted harm on our fellow citizens. We have all seen the tears that have been shed over serious injury and even death. We've all felt the uneasy feeling of wanting to know whether or not we are even safe at night."
The mayor said she could assure the community the city is taking action.
"Let me make myself clear," Young said, "to those who wish to bring harm to our citizens -- to those that wish to sell drugs, destroy our children's futures; to those who want to bring violence in our streets or chaos in our community; to those who want to make our elderly, our poor or disenfranchised feel vulnerable; to those who want to vandalize properties that people's worked their entire lives to afford; to those who wish to intimidate our people with threats of violence and loss -- hear me loud and clear. Your days are numbered.
"You can take that mess somewhere else because there's no place for you in the city of Camden. We will not tolerate harm against our people."
Young said to the "overwhelmingly vast majority" of "God-fearing" people that abide by the laws, the city is on their side.
"We're standing with you," she said.
Her message to the criminals of the city, however, was a firm warning.
"There's no safe place for you and Camden and we will spare no effort. We will not stop. We will expand as much energy as required to put you where you belong behind bars," she said. "The only people who should feel unsafe in their beds at night is the criminal, not the law-abiding citizens of Camden."
Young made a call to the people to help the city and the police department in ending the crime in the city.
"We need you to speak up and encourage others to do the same," she said. "We need the support of our citizens to be our eyes and our ears. When you see something, say something -- even if you aren't sure, do not hesitate to call us and we will respond."
For those members of the community who wish to report crime anonymously, as of tonight, we are reactivating our Crime Stoppers phone line," Young said.
"This line has been (opened), but it has not been publicized. But as of tonight you can call anonymously to the station directly.
"We will respond," she said. "When you see suspicious activity, call us. When you see crowds congregating and you feel uneasy about it, call us. When you witness suspected drug activity, call us.
"We're launching a recording campaign that will encourage reporting of suspicious activity, because we want to end the era of some of our citizens feeling uneasy about calling us. We're on your side and we will treat you with the utmost respect and protect your identity."
Young said the Camden Police Department is working more closely with the Ouachita County Sheriff's office. In addition there are plans to have security cameras installed at the Camden Housing Authority properties.
"Make no mistake," she said. "I've spent time in the Housing Authority. I've talked to people in their rooms and in the complexes and I have met some of Camden's finest citizens there. And the people in the Housing Authority apartments -- they want the same thing we do, to feel safe. They are citizens and I plan to do everything within my power to make that happen."
Young finished her speech saying she wanted to recognize the members of the Camden Police Department for their hard work.
"They're out on front lines working hard to keep Camden safe," she said. "They have done an amazing job, not only for many, many crimes but swiftly responding to criminal activity. On several occasions, they've apprehended suspects within hours. And this is all thanks to their tireless, efforts and dedication. They've also made an arrest on every homicide that we have had happen here in Camden."
She went on to give recognition to the current Interim Chief of Police at the CPD.
"He is literally in the streets, day in and day out," Young said. "He responds to calls helping to prevent crime. I've heard him on the radio in the evenings, out doing foot patrol in some of our most challenging neighborhoods. And I'm proud of the hard work that he and his department are doing."
Young said she has put together a committee to look for a new police chief despite it being part of the mayor's duties to hire department heads.
She continued saying after advertising the opening for the position, 20 applications had been received.
"I will not apologize for taking time to pray about these decisions," she said. "You don't rush and you have to make sure of who you're appointing."
Young said she is projecting there will be a new chief hired in the first quarter of 2025.