Abbeville residents speak of ways to solve crime

More than 80 people gathered Tuesday evening in Abbeville with the goal to devise steps to answer growing concerns with crime.
City officials met with residents at Visions of Hope, located in the old Herod High School building.
Councilman Wayne Landry, whose District D, includes the area, organized the meeting. Officials taking part in a panel discussion included Biship B.K. Stevens, developer of Visions of Hope, Abbeville Mayor Mark Piazza, Councilman Brady Broussard Jr., and Abbeville Police Det. Leland Laseter and Det. Josh Hebert.
“The meeting went very well,” Landry said. “Some pretty good ideas were put out there. Many of the people want to have a better relationship with the police department, a one-on-one relationship. They want to be close, instead of a distant relationship.”
One plan coming out of the meeting will create an outlet for youth.
“We want to have somewhere they can go to communicate and vent,” Landry said. “We want to have some place for them to be able to talk to adults.”
Spearheading that effort is Vermilion Parish School Board member Kibbie Pillette, who represents District F. Pillette recently took over the seat left vacant with the passing of longtime member Charles Campbell.
Dr. James Gray of the Vermilion Parish School System also attended the meeting. He stated, though he is from Opelousas, he is fond of this area and especially the children and people. He stressed the need to connect with these children one on one.
“After the child gets home from school,” Gray said, “that same connection and conversation needs to take place in the home each day.”
For his part, Broussard stressed the impact residents can have.
“In this day and time, law enforcement cannot do the job of solving crimes quickly without witnesses and public cooperation,” Broussard said. “There is a quick and easy way to report criminal activity to the Abbeville Police Department anonymous tip line at 892-6777.”
Stevens said he is pleased with a neighborhood watch being born of Tuesday’s meeting.
“I believe this is going to be a good thing because we already have several people signed up,” Stevens said. “The ones who signed up were really responsive and really want to get involved. The detectives told us the police department will help guide us in the right direction with that.”
Stevens’ goal for his Visions of Hope is the same, to guide those in need in the right direction. He discussed those goals and what role the organization can play in all of this.
“We have after school programs,” Stevens said. “We had 13 people sign up to help us with those.
“That is going to do a great deal.”
Visions of Hope works with adults, too, and received a boost in that area Tuesday.
“We found some people who are willing to come in and teach people their skills,” Stevens said. “One of them is going to show people how to do tiles. Another one is coming to show how to do plumbing.
“That is going to help give people something to focus on and to look forward to.”
Landry said, while Tuesday’s meeting served a great purpose, it is another step in the right direction.
“There is still a lot of work to do,” Landry said. “We are going to have more of these.
“It’s all about bringing the community together.”
Stevens agreed.
“There’s so many negatives out there that it is great to see some positives,” Stevens said.