Pasadena Police Chief Attends National Economics and Crime Summit
By Pasadena Independent
Published: Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Chief of Police Bernard Melekian just returned from a Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) National Violent Crime Summit, where he and other top law enforcement officials from around the country discussed the correlation between economic breakdown and crime. 
“This is an important national issue,” Chief Melekian said.
“Those of us in law enforcement know that when the economy is poor, crime increases. We are in the midst of a financial crisis unlike anything we’ve experienced in recent generations,” Melekian said in a press release.
“Statistics bear out that the amount and severity of crime significantly increases, as the number of homes in a community foreclosed upon increases,” Melekian said. “While Pasadena has been fortunate not to have yet experienced the decline in the housing market that other communities have, we need to make sure that we are proactively involved with our community to insure that we can maintain our collective successes in decreasing crime in our city.”
Melekian commented that before national economic issues begin to impact local communities it is imperative that thoughtful deliberations have taken place and that solutions are fully discussed.
The crime summit took place in Washington D.C. at the Newseum, a museum dedicated to the journalistic history of news in the United States.
Over 150 police chiefs and other high ranking city officials attended. In addition to the economic discussions, representatives of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain were present to discuss the candidates’ plans for addressing crime and violence.
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