For the past several months, violent crime in the Shining Jewel of the South has been escalating. Police have been unable to stem it off, and while it is growing in intensity, it seems to be restricted mostly to gang-on-gang violence. So far the self-declared truces and neutral zones are holding, but police are rapidly running out of resources to combat this rising tide of bloodshed, theft, and crime.
With the police clamoring for aid from the state, they are not sure they can get the resources they need in time to deal with the rising swell before it pours into the surrounding areas and the collateral damage impacts the neutral zones. They have considered pulling in extra help from Blackhand Security and from other agencies around the city, but the budgetary concerns have prompted requests for additional funding from Baton Rouge. So far those requests have gone unanswered and the only additional security within Wellstone City has been paid for by organizations that can pay for it, such as the Kinzey Corporation. Ivan Kinzey declined to comment on whether his organization would be extending those security services to tourist areas around Wellstone City.
The larger crime syndicates have attempted to distance themselves from this violence and they are also trying to give protection to the tourist areas of Wellstone to keep vacationers and sightseers visiting the city. So far, those efforts have met with positive results, but there is concern that there could be a negative backlash; as they restrict their activities and move into protective roles from their traditional activities, the voids could be filled. Certain members of the organized crime ranks as well as the city council have voiced their concern that it could lead to smaller organizations filling those voids. Those smaller organizations, or even individuals, will be harder to manage with pressure and non-violent means than the syndicates, making the whole situation possibly even more dangerous.
Right now, there is a tenuous stability to the system, but that stability may decay at with the right pressures in the right places. The out-resourced Wellstone City Police Department is trying to valiantly to keep that from happening, especially in the more crime-ridden areas. Until the answer of the budget can be mitigated, it is unsure how long the Police can keep things together.