One night in your neighborhood...

For many years the Greenville Police Department has sponsored a NATIONAL NIGHT OUT event at the Greenville Town Commons.  In 2012, we are going back to the original NATIONAL NIGHT OUT model as it was conceived by the National Association of Town Watch.   Rather than being a single event, NATIONAL NIGHT OUT is intended to be a series of more intimate, neighborhood-focused events, spread across the city.   Police officers will be visiting these events for participating neighborhoods. 

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT 2012  is scheduled for August 7, 2012.  NATIONAL NIGHT OUT is a collection of events happening in local neighborhoods all across America on this special day.  NATIONAL NIGHT OUT is designed to reconnect friends and neighbors and strengthen neighborhood spirit against crime and criminal activity. 

Whether it is a block party,  a neighborhood picnic, an organized flashlight walk, or simply visiting friends in the front yard,  National Night Out 2012 is meant to be a local event focused on making your neighborhood safer.

How do you participate?  It’s very simple, and your neighborhood watch group can make a positive impact in an inexpensive way.  Organize a neighborhood walk.  Sponsor a small cookout.  Have a street party, or just pull up a lawn chair and visit.  You will have a chance to meet your area police officers.  Your National Night Out event does not have to be expensive or complicated.

Representatives from the Greenville Police Department will be attending National Night Out activities all across the City.  If your neighborhood chooses to participate, let us know and we’ll be there.

By attending a National Night Out event in your local neighborhood, you can show others that you are committed to making your street,  your block,  and your neighborhood a safer place to live.

Your NATIONAL NIGHT OUT 2012 Coordinator is Lieutenant Edward Carson.  You can call Lt. Carson at the Greenville Police Department at 329-4373.

Please visit the NATIONAL NIGHT OUT website for more information:  http://www.natw.org/nno/about.html.     You can also register with the National Association of Town Watch and receive organizing kits, activity ideas, community watch tips, and other pieces of helpful information to get started.



Mountains or beach...

Summer is here and its time for a vacation getaway.  Before you go, however,  call the Greenville Police Department and let us know...

One of services offered by the Greenville Police Department is the Vacation House Check.   Before you go out of town,  call the police department and request this service.   You'll be asked to provide some basic information such as:

• How many days will you be away?
• Is there an emergency contact person we can call if we need to?
• Does someone nearby have an extra set of keys

A Community Services Represntative will ask you some other questions and then complete a house check form for you and assign the house check to the proper area officer or police volunteer.  You can do all this over the telephone. 

Then while you are gone,  someone will stop by your home periodically and conduct a physical  inspection, making sure your windows and doors are secure,  your garage is locked, etc...

This is one of the most under-utilized services our department offers, and it is also one of the best services for providing peace of mind for residents while they are away from home.

The next time you're going on vacation, or anytime you need to leave for several days,  Call the Greenville Police Department at 252-329-4315.  Request a Vacation House Check.  

Summer re-runs, already...

The Greenville Police Department again is requesting help from the community to solve a recent series of car break-ins, this time from the area of South Square Drive Apartments, near Pitt Community College.

Since June 10 there have been 19 car break-ins reported in the City of Greenville, and 14 of these occurred near the area of South Square Apartments.   In every case reported in this area, the victim’s cars were left unlocked.

Crime prevention is everybody’s business.  Taking away a criminal’s opportunity to steal is the most effective method for preventing crime.

The Greenville Police Department wants everyone to be aware that car break-ins can occur anyplace and any time.  Virtually any article left in plain view is apt to be stolen.  Most property stolen is left in plain view where anyone walking by the car can see it lying there.

Taking a few common sense steps can help you avoid being a victim of a car break-in.  Here are some safety tips for protecting your car and the valuables inside, while parking your car in a public or private driveway or parking lot:

• Always roll up your windows and lock your car, even if it is in front of your home.
• Never leave valuables item or even loose change in plain view, even if your car is locked. This is the number one reason cars are broken into. Put your valuable items in the trunk out of sight. This includes empty book-bags, purses, or luggage that may appear to contain valuables.
• Park your car in a busy, well-lighted area whenever possible.
• Consider subscribing to a GPS tracking system, in case your car does get stolen, it can be tracked and recovered quickly by law enforcement.
• Consider using a steering column lock or an anti-theft alarm system when leaving your car parked.
• Be a good neighbor.  Report suspicious people in your neighborhood or business parking lot to the police.  Use the buddy system and watch your neighbor’s home.
• Never leave your keys in the car or ignition.
• Use outside lights around your home at night.  Motion sensors work great.

It generally takes just a few seconds to secure your valuables, but it will take only a few seconds more for a thief to break in and steal valuables left in plain sight. 

Do your part by taking preventive action and spreading the word. You can make a difference.

Don't make me have to say this again.

Bean counters with a badge...

The GPD Financial Crimes Unit consists of 3 detectives who investigate "white collar" crimes such as Fraud & Forgery,  I.D. Thefts, Embezzlement, and Internet Fraud, among many other types of crimes.    These detectives work closely with banks and insurance companies, as well as other businesses who process financial records in order to track and record money transactions for victims.

Internet fraud is a particularly fascinating category of crimes and our detectives focus primarily on cases where the suspect is operating in Greenville and defrauding victims around the world.

In at least one case, our detectives assisted a victim from as far away as Australia...and I don't think it can get further away than that.

Most recently our detectives completed an investigation of an internet fraud where Dell Computer Corporation was the victim of approximately $720,000 in fraudulent equipment exchanges and thefts.  The 5 suspects are based here in Greenville.

More common offenses include basic forgery & uttering of  stolen checks, and fruadulent use of credit & debit cards.  In these cases, as in most financial crimes cases,  detectives are required to obtain a small mountain of documentary evidence.  This requires subpoenas to be served on each of the institutions affected in order to provide for the release of records.  This process often takes several months to service and obtain a reply to requests for information and records.

Financial crimes are considered non-violent crimes and often the punishments for committing these offenses is much less than that for things like armed robbery or burglary.

Our detectives are patient, but persistent.  They handle a large case load effeciently, and do a great job for their victims.
  

On child predators...

The Greenville Police Department continues to be an active member of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program. The ICAC Task Force Program helps state and local law enforcement agencies develop an effective response to cyber enticement and child pornography cases.

The ICAC Program is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces. This Program consists of a national network of state and local agencies dedicated to developing effective responses to the online enticement of children by sexual predators, child exploitation, and child obscenity and pornography cases.

The National Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program is dedicated to increasing the investigative capabilities of State and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors in the detection and investigation of internet crimes offenses against children.  ICAC is dedicated to the identification and apprehension of offenders, especially those including technology-facilitated child exploitation offenses.

Little known facts...

Very few people know that whenever a non-citizen of this country is arrested, he must be given the opportunity to notifiy his country's Consul to the United States.  A police officer must advise the arrestee of that right and ask them if they want the police to contact their consulate.   

In some other cases,  the officer is required to contact the consulate, regardless of the desires of the arrestee.  There are about 56 countries which by treaty require US law enforcement officers to make Consular notification whenever one of their citizens is arrested in the United States. ( Albania, Belarus, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and the United Kingdom are some, just to name a few.)

One of the first questions a police officer should ask a person whom he suspects is not a US Citizen, is "Are you a U.S. Citizen?"   The Greenville Police Department maintains a list with the telephone numbers and cities of every Consular Office in America, so that the officer can call that Consul and notifiy someone there that one of their citizens has been arrested by the Greenville NC Police Department.

In some cases,  Consular offices may provide legal assistance to the defendant.  They may assist with family issues, or may even visit the defendant to make a determination about the nature of their arrest.

Every year police officers receive a brief refresher training lesson about this requirement for Consular Notification.  The US State Department provides every police department with a summary of the law, as well as small index cards for the officers. These index cards summarize the required procedures and they list those countries that require Consular Notification.

It's just one more detail every police officer must remember in the course of doing their jobs.

  

That's a lot of saran wrap...

On Friday June 1, 2012 the Greenville Regional Drug Task Force, the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit, and DEA Raleigh concluded a 5 month long Marijuana Trafficking Investigation. The investigation led to the recovery of 122 lbs. of marijuana. The arrests and seizures were made at the intersection of Memorial Dr. and Stantonsburg Rd. at approximately 7:30 am.  The following subjects were arrested:

• Filiberto Cobarrubias-Herrera, 38 years old, Mebane, N.C.
• Angel Aguirre Luna, 47 years old, Burlington,  N.C.

The Goldsboro Police Department and Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office also assisted in the investigation.  Today’s arrest and seizure is not connected to the seizure of marijuana on May 31, 2012.  Members of the Greenville Regional Drug Task Force include the Greenville Police Department, the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Farmville Police Department.



122 pounds of marijuana seized by the Drug Task Force