Nichols, Tom 1989-02-10
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General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Tom Nichols
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: February 10, 1989
Location:
Interviewer: Richard J. Mason
Length: 01:08:55
Abstract
Tape 1, Side 1:
Mr. Nichols talks about crime in Lubbock. Lubbock reports every crime unlike other cities and therefore some statistics are not accurate. He gives specific percentages on what is reported for specific crimes like assaults, rape, minor thefts, house burglaries, car thefts, etc. He said it is safe to say that about 1/2 of known crimes are reported. Attempted burglary is counted too. 42% of crimes are "cleaned." "Cleaned" is a book keeping term, not a legal term. It means that someone is arrested for the crime or for a lot of the cases, the victims decline to prosecute. He said there is more risk outside the city limits. Lubbock has the 22nd highest crime rate in Texas but is the 9th or 10th biggest city in Texas. Lubbock has received a bunch of publicity for the crime rate yet it is not the worst. There was a national peak in crime around 1980. Candy bar theft counts like murder in these statistics. More than half of the crimes are dope related. Alot of the crimes involve victims of someone they know or love. Stranger to stranger is not as common. His first view of Lubbock was how violent it was. Property crime is more common though. He says that everyone is not on the same page in the criminal justice system. He suggests a speedy fair trial to fix the problem since a lot of criminals are not prosecuted until a year after the crime. There also lacks a deterrent. Criminals would rather go to jail for 3 months than be on probation. 36% of HS students drop out.
Tape 1, Side 2:
Mr. Nichols says that our society is like a fire. We have problems in the criminal justice system, failure in education, and dope. Child supervision is lacking too. He suggests more responsibility for parents, education reform, and incarcerating criminals. While some stolen items end up in flea markets and pawn shops, many go out of town. Most of the crime is unorganized. Lubbock has one of the higher return of stolen items with 1/4 to 1/3 of the stolen items being returned. He says that prostitutes need to have harsher punishments. He suggests a 90 day sentence. He brings up that women get pregnant and commit a felony to have health care and the baby taken care of. The justice system can not out build the crime rate. He says there is no need for more police if there was swift punishment. The LPD had a $14,000,000 budget. He says the economy would be down if dope disappeared. It is an underground economy. It would cost $30,000 for a new policeman. 50 new policemen would be $2,000,000. Lubbock spends about 2/3 to 3/4 of what the nation's average is on police protection. There is 1.6officers/1,000 citizens. He shares statistics of law enforcement officers per capita compared to national average
Tape 2, Side 1:
30 people/ day are arrested. He talks about the cooperation between departments and how the agencies work together. They use Texas Rangers to avoid jurisdiction problems. He discusses the need for volunteers. He gives a summary of his view that crime is bad. It is not worse or better than the national average. There are financial limitations but society needs moral values, education, and incarceration
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