LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - Pleas for peace on Little Rock streets: That was part of the outcry Monday night at City Hall as community activists and concerned citizens vented frustrations over the recent spike in crime.
City leaders say they're just as concerned about the violence as those speaking out Monday. And they're not neglecting efforts to fight it; in fact they're pumping in millions of dollars this year to tackle some of the root problems. But we still heard a push Monday night from concerned citizens, demanding more.
Their numbers were not large but their passion was strong.
"I'm sick and tired of black-on-black crime that's going on in our area, it seems the city doesn't even care," said Rev. Bennie Johnson, leader of Stop the Violence.
"Whatever the ethnic and racial or gender affiliation is, we need to get to the root of this and we need to change course," Resident John Coffin said.
Fed up with the rising crime in Little Rock, city directors got an earful Tuesday night.
"As I look about the room this evening, I fail to see the urgency," Resident Rodney Bolden said.
But City Directors say they hear them loud and clear.
"What the board has said weeks ago, we know the system is not working as well as we'd like; we've doubled the amount of money and we're going to make it better," Director Dean Kumpuris said.
Kumpuris, who was filling in for Mayor Mark Stodola Tuesday night, says along with increasing patrols, the city will invest more than $6 million in programs this year for prevention, intervention and treatment, getting to the root causes of crime.
"Look at any other city in the state, nobody has that kind of money that we can bring into exactly what they're talking about," Kumpuris said.
Kumpuris says they want to work with folks like these concered citizens to develop the best use of that money. And by the sounds of it Tuesday night, it seems the people around the podium are more than ready to get started.
"We can't fix this by ourselves, we're doing the best we can," Bolden said.
Another issue that came up Monday night: problems with loitering around liquor stores that's leading to violent crimes. Rev. Benny Johnson with Stop the Violence says business owners need to be held more accountable for that kind of behavior. And some city directors acknowledged that is a problem. The city attorney said they can go after certain stores if there's a proven record of trouble, specifically at least three arrests on site.
Little Rock saw a record 35 homicides in 2011. There's been three this year and just on Monday, a teen shot after a Martin Luther King day parade.