Candidates, business owners, police say downtown Cape has no serious crime problem, despite perception of some

In the summer of 2007, city officials and downtown merchants developed a plan to combat vandalism and other drunken behavior occurring as patrons exit bars.

The proposal called for two officers to patrol downtown on foot on busy evenings. The stumbling block was the cost -- up to $30,000 for overtime pay. The city agreed to pay half, if business owners would do the same.

The patrols never began because merchants were unwilling to put up their share.

The problems of broken planters, urination and bar fights would happen anywhere where there are large numbers of people drinking, said Kent Zickfield, owner of Zickfield's Jewelry, 29 N. Main St., and president of the Old Town Cape Board of Directors.

"There is not enough of a problem for people to dig into their pockets," Zickfield said. "And we already see patrols in the evening on a regular basis."

Still, there is a perception among some that downtown Cape Girardeau is a dangerous place. At the League of Women Voters forum for city candidates in the April 6 election, one questioner asked what should the city do to address the problem of bars concentrated in a small area creating "a disproportionate rate of crime."

The question was put to mayoral candidates Harry Rediger, a retired businessman, and former councilman Matt Hopkins. Neither said they agreed that crime was a big problem, but both offered ideas for making downtown better.

Hopkins focused on pushing property owners to clean up and rehabilitate neglected properties. He cited the Marquette Building as an example, saying that he pushed for a demolition or repair order that prompted the owner to sell the building to a redevelopment company.

"So many times people think that government is the answer to everything that ails us," Hopkins said in an interview Thursday. "Locally we have got to do what we can to impact people's lives in a positive way."

Encouraging new residential development alongside business downtown will help reduce problems, Rediger said at the forum. Filling empty storefronts will also help, he said.

But as to crime, Rediger said in an interview Thursday, "I still don't have any facts that say" a crime problem "is in fact true."

Cape Girardeau Police Department figures show that downtown does generate a significant number of calls. In an area bounded by Broadway, Lorimier Street, Good Hope Street and the Mississippi River, police responded to 875 requests for service or other incidents in 2009. Of that amount, 184 incidents were traffic violations, 153 were responses to alarms sounding and 111 were for peace disturbances, amounting to 51.2 percent of the total.

Police chief Carl Kinnison doesn't deny that occasional serious crimes occur downtown, but "it is not an area where we see major problems. But we do focus resources in the area around bar closing time."

Police responded to 33 thefts -- many were shoplifting incidents -- 10 assaults and 26 property damage crimes, among others, in 2009.

Most of the incidents are "petty crimes," Kinnison said, with public urination, fighting, property damage and graffiti topping the list. "Those are not petty to the business owners, and we do take them seriously," he said.

The newly installed public restroom on Broadway near Main Street is designed to reduce the public urination problem, said Marla Mills, executive director of Old Town Cape.

Retailers do not seem to be fleeing downtown or reluctant to open a business, Mills said. Downtown, she said, has a good mix of retail shops open in the daytime and restaurants and bars open at night.

"We need to make sure it is clean and well lit," Mills said. "As far as that statement about crime, I have no indication that is the case and the issue has not been raised that things are changing in the wrong direction at all."

Some business owners have taken steps to protect their property. Beverly Kasten of Back Porch Antiques and Collectibles, 27 N. Main St., installed cameras outside the entrance. She's caught people urinating against a column and captured video of shoplifters exiting her store.

"I check it every morning to find out where I need to clean," she said.

While Zickfield said he never feels unsafe downtown, Kasten said she occasionally is fearful if she is in her store late. She said it is mainly because of loud cursing and alcohol-fueled fights she has witnessed.

"Maybe it is because I am over 50," she said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

27 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO