PARC meeting has small, interested turn out

Despite a small turn out, ten residents from Old North Knoxville met with the Police Advisory Review Committee (PARC) when it held its quarterly meeting at the 4^th Presbyterian Church on October 18^th at 6 p.m.

PARC usually meets quarterly and in a different sector of the city each time. Greg and Rena Webb invited PARC to hold their recent meeting in Old North Knoxville and arranged for 4^th Presbyterian Church, located at the corner of Broadway and Glenwood Ave., to host the meeting. Flyers were distributed to residents of the neighborhood. Along with Old North Knoxville residents, there were members of the police department, among them East Sector Captain Nate Allen and Deputy Police Chief Bob Coker. Also present was Bob Mills, a city attorney at law who advises PARC.

Though the primary mission of PARC is to deal with allegations of police misconduct and misunderstandings between police and citizens, there were discussions between PARC and members of Old North Knoxville concerning crime, particularly drug use and prostitution, in the neighborhood.

The residents praised the police department for the increased presence in the neighborhood and for having a police representative at the neighborhood’s monthly meetings. They expressed concerns about continued prostitution and illegal drug activities in the neighborhood. Some of the suggestions from PARC and the police members included doing a neighborhood clean up and arranging a walk through the neighborhood with a representative of the police department and a representative of the codes department to point out abandoned houses and overgrown lots. Efforts would then be made then to close off the houses and take care of the lots. This would help reduce areas where prostitution and illegal drug use take place, and where vagrants could hide.

PARC was originally created by Mayor Victor Ashe by executive order on September 22, 1998. It is designed to be an independent agency with the authority to review and investigate allegations of misconduct filed by the public against the Knoxville Police Department. It is composed of seven citizens of the City of Knoxville, appointed by the Mayor for a term of three years. The committee has hired Carol Scott as Executive Director. She is the full time paid member of PARC and is primary contact if a citizen has a question or complaint. To reach PARC, contact Executive Director Carol Scott at (865) 215-3869 or at cscott@ci.knoxville.tn.us.

In May 2001, the Knoxville City Council approved an ordinance making PARC a permanent part of the City Code. This means it will continue after Mayor Ashe’s term is up. The seven volunteers on the PARC board are Chairperson Sterling Owen, Vivan Gwinn, Dr. Joseph Johnson, Reverend Jim McCluskey, Reverend Reggie Butler, Attorney Robyn Askew, and Kamau Kenyatta. PARC can be found on the Web at www.ci.knoxville.tn.us/boards/parc.