Matt Wilbanks Coos County Neighborhood Watch Talking About Crime 4:08 PM Monday, March 13, 2023, on KWRO
I'd like to take some time and lay out a bit about what I believe about the crime problem in Coos County, including what is fueling it and how it relates to drug abuse, mental illness and homelessness. I'll also be describing why I take the approach that I do based on my experience.
Coos County Neighborhood Watch | Facebook
This was prompted because every time I make/share a new post I get questions about how I approach people, why I'm filming them and particularly why I'm posting it online. Many of these are completely legitimate questions, some are just trolls wanting to argue. If I feel someone is asking questions in good faith, I will gladly answer them. On the other hand, if I feel they have an ulterior motive or are playing dumb, I'm not going to waste my time with them. I'm much too busy to answer the same question 1000 times when the person clearly hasn't done one bit of investigation into how our group is operating. Hopefully this post will help with that.
First off, I am only speaking for myself. While most of us who started this group are in agreement on most issues, I won't put words in their mouths. Second, my background is in private security with a tiny little bit of reserve police officer experience. I've been dealing face to face with criminals, the mentally ill and the homeless from that perspective for years. I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist or counselor of any type. Over the years I've learned to deal with various types of people, but always with the goal of enforcement and protection of property.
To all the people who keep saying that what I do isn't helping these people, I say you are completely correct. My goal has never been to find people homes, get them treatment or change their lives. My experience is not in that area. If I can help someone, I will, but that's not what I'm after. Our society has tried to turn the police into social workers and it is an utter failure. A cop needs to be a cop and a social worker needs to be a social worker. Mixing them is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. You end up with a burnt out cop and a half ass job on both ends.
To go along with that I'd like to ask everyone a question. In Coos Bay/North Bend how many social service organizations are there for the homeless/addicted/mentally ill? Once you answer that, ask yourself how many organizations are out there protecting private property rights? My answers are "a bunch" for the first and "one" for the second. Let's list them...
Social Service: The Devereux Center, T.H.E. House, Southcoast Gospel Mission, ADAPT, Bay Area First Step, Coos Health and Wellness, Southern Oregon Veteran's Outreach, Star of Hope, CASA of Coos and Curry Counties, Oregon Coast Community Action, The SAFE Project, Coos Elderly Services.
Property Rights: The Police.
You see my problem? Why would I add one more name to that giant list when it's not something I have experience with and when the other list is so severely lacking? Do any of you really think we need MORE social service organizations? I'll pass.
Next up, let's talk about how I approach the crime issue and people that I may deal with. Many of you may have heard of the "broken windows" theory of policing. It basically says that if you let criminals get away with small stuff it will lead to big stuff. I've heard tons of criticism of this practice with people saying there is no evidence that small leads to big. This is utter nonsense. Anyone who has children can tell you that if you let little Johnny get away with small things he will then start trying big things. It's simply how the human brain operates. I've seen it time and time again while doing security. If you slack off, the bad guys press the issue. It's no different than mowing your lawn. If you don't do it periodically then you end up with a giant mess.
The question of evidence supporting this comes down to a misunderstanding between "direct" evidence and "indirect" (or circumstantial) evidence. When it comes to human behavioral traits, direct evidence is hard to come by. On the other hand, there is a mountain of circumstantial evidence in favor of "broken windows". As I said, watch your own kid.
With that said, I approach crime by not only looking out for things like burglaries, DUII, etc., but also small stuff like petty theft, littering and disorderly conduct. Even if you don't believe what I wrote above, you can understand that if I get on someone for littering, they know I'm watching them and are less likely to do other things. Part of the problem we currently have in Coos County is that the crime rate has risen quicker than the police forces have increased in size. Couple this with a state government and some District Attorney's who have tied their hands in many areas and you end up with more crime than the cops can keep up with. Believe me, I'm out there every day and have plenty of criticisms of modern law enforcement, but our local cops ARE NOT being lazy. They are running their asses off all shift long.
I mentioned something about the police being "overwhelmed" when I spoke at a Coos Bay City Council meeting. Chief Chapanar disputed this, but it's his job to dispute it. No Police Chief wants to publicly admit there is a problem or that he doesn't have the resources/freedom to handle it. He saves that stuff for private meetings with the City Council. I don't blame him for that. That doesn't change the fact that there are criminals being arrested multiple times in one day quite often for things that would immediately put them in jail under normal circumstances. How would you like to be a beat cop and have to arrest the same guy 3 times in one day when his ass should have been in jail? Triple the calls, triple the reports, triple the court dates, no problem boss! may I have another?
Now let's talk a bit about why I started filming some of these encounters. First off, one of the primary reasons we started the neighborhood watch was to keep people informed and let them actually see what is going on with their own eyes. Video is the best way to do that. Wanna complain that I'm invading their privacy? You obviously don't understand the law if you do. Wanna say that filming just ostracizes them and makes the problem worse? Sorry, I disagree. Not gonna argue with anyone about it.
The second main reason I film is for my own safety. A lot of the time I'm out alone. The camera puts people on their heels and makes them react to me rather than the other way around. For all they know I could be livestreaming. Good luck getting rid of the evidence when it's already saved online.
Lastly, let's talk about my view on homelessness and mental illness. I've said this before, but I'm homeless. Partially due to being laid off from my job of 12+ years, partially of my own choice. I'm not out there harassing good people who happen to live on the street or in their vehicles. My focus is on criminal behavior. I don't care what put you in a particular position, it doesn't justify stealing, harassing or damaging other peoples property. Period. If I approach you cause you did something wrong, but you also happen to be homeless, I don't care. I'm there because of your actions, not your lack of housing.
Mental illness is of course a much more complicated subject. Just because someone is mentally ill doesn't mean they can't function in society. It depends on the illness and the severity thereof. The major question is what caused the mental illness? It could be genetic, it could be caused by trauma or it could be caused by substance abuse. Genetic and trauma obviously aren't the fault of the person that is ill. That means we need to be understanding with the person, but we still can't tolerate them abusing other people. These people should either be cared for by their family or be in an institution. Our culture and society has failed in those two areas.
Substance abuse (by the person's own choice) leading to mental illness is that person's fault and I definitely hold them responsible for their later actions. The problem with all three of these avenues is that all of us don't know their personal history. Unless you are a family member or a close friend you're probably not going to have enough information to make a value judgement on them. This the reason I try to treat everyone with respect. You'll notice that I'm exceedingly polite in my videos, even when telling someone to do something they don't want to. If I was the serial harasser all the trolls say I am, would I be that nice and be posting videos of it online? Of course not. I've actually been accused of being too nice by some people who are even more frustrated with the situation than I am.
I hope all that clarifies my position on some things. Any time I get a legit question or a potential troll, I'm going to direct them to this post. I simply don't have time to rehash the same conversation over and over.
Thanks to everyone for being a part of the group and keep on posting all that good information. Shine some light on all that darkness!
I wanted to provide everyone with some links for identifying criminals in your area and checking into their histories. I use these on almost a daily basis for photos and court records.
Coos County Jail Roster:
https://www.co.coos.or.us/.../coos-county-corrections...
Coos County Community Corrections Detainable List (these are people who don't necessarily have a warrant, but may be on parole/probation and are either being sought or are searchable by law enforcement at any time):
https://www.co.coos.or.us/community.../page/detainable-list
Police Reports for Coos County:
https://oregontoday.net/category/police-reports/
Mugshots (not great for Coos County as they don't automatically release mug shots, but I still find people here quite often):
Oregon Department of Corrections - Offender Search (to find the status and location of anyone in state custody):
https://docpub.state.or.us/OOS/intro.jsf
Oregon Judicial Department - Court Records Search:
https://webportal.courts.oregon.gov/portal/
Oregon Sex Offender Registry:
https://sexoffenders.oregon.gov/
Matt Wilbank Haters:
Watching Matthew Wilbanks and the Rest of Coos County Neighborhood Watch | Facebook