RICHMOND, Virginia – As cars rolled through a Southside Richmond McDonald’s drive-thru Tuesday afternoon, employees on the inside were still dealing with a tragedy that happened the night before.
In the vicinity of the fast food restaurant on Hull Street on Monday evening, police said 29-year-old Jayce Folker was found shot dead.
His murder was the 11th in Richmond this year.
“They are frustrated. They are terrified,” said community activist Cruz Sherman. “We’ve had, unfortunately, five shootings in the last 27 hours. We have so many that we have to say, ‘Where was this place or that place?’
Sherman joined Richmond police on Tuesday to check with workers and business owners at Southside Plaza who may be affected by the gun violence.
The effort was part of a “RESET” program that officers and believers normally attend after a murder.
“We are here to encourage them and give them resources if there is anyone who has suffered trauma, such as the staff at McDonald’s. Many of them worked last night,” Sherman said. “So we want to make sure emotionally and mentally that they are good.”
Sherman explained that it is a community policy strategy to build trust and develop relationships between law enforcement officers and those who call Richmond home.
“Being very visible in the community really brings a lot of relief and also hope,” he said. “We want to be proactive rather than reactive.”
Lawyer expert Dr. William Pelfrey, a professor of criminal justice at VCU, agrees.
“The best police force is proactive policing, where police officers go out into the community and build trust,” he said. “They build these relationships.”
Pelfrey joined the effort to bring more intelligence and information to the community department’s police department.
But engaging with the community can prove difficult when there are not enough officers.
“Then they’re just reactive,” Pelfrey said. “They take care of calling 911 after things have happened. They get the opportunity not to intervene.”
Currently, the Richmond Police Department has 618 officers, according to a Richmond Police Department public information officer. The force has 755 total positions, which means it is free with 137.
“If there are not enough police officers, it means there are fewer officers on each shift,” Pelfrey said.
Some other patterns that may take shape under a short-staffed police department, according to Pelfrey, include:
- Slower response time
- Slower Backup Satellite
- Less time and attention for certain calls
- Difficulty recruiting and retaining officers
- Overworking officers leads to drowsiness
Lack is not unique to Richmond Police. Pelfrey said police departments across the country have experienced staff gaps due to a recent cultural shift and low morale around police. For that reason, Pelfrey does not expect police departments to fill all of their vacancies soon. However, he said Richmond police face additional challenges because surrounding agencies pay officers more money.
“Richmond is struggling to find money and find the right kind of people,” he said. “They need to convince people of the importance of making a difference. Here’s how you can make your community a better place.”
Pelfrey said Richmond Police deserves credit for being a fully accredited agency, which is rare among urban police departments.
“They are accredited because they are good, they pursue all policies, they implement best practices, they research what is going on, and they attract the best ideas,” he said.
While a lack of officers affected public safety in several ways, Pelfrey stressed that it did not directly lead to an increase in violent crime.
Police said 80% of recent murders in Richmond involved people who know each other.
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