We can look back on it now and laugh a bit. Maybe it wasn't so funny back then. The below picture was taken around 1994-95 when 2 patrol officers were following up on the report of stolen cars being dumped in the ponds near the Tar River and Hwy 264. The 2 officers were driving around the far edge of a pond looking for evidence of stolen cars when they got stranded.
The mud puddle did not look that deep when the officers approached it..but the photo tells a different story.
The truck was able to pull the police car out of the mud, and there was no damage done, but it was quite a situation for the officers at the time. It must have been just one of those days.
Detectives from the Greenville Police Department Major Crimes Unit recently arrested 3 suspects in reference to the murder of Dontae Haddock on June 30 in Greenville.
Unlike many crimes, where a single unit or section of the department may be assigned to work the case, homicide cases represent an all-out effort by every element within a police department. No departmental resources are left unused to solve a murder.
The amount of manpower alone can be staggering. Every available person may be called upon to follow leads, process evidence, investigate or eliminate potential suspects, secure crime scenes, or do whatever needs to be done. It is not unusual for detective teams to work 24 hours straight when a homicide occurs.
There is paperwork, too. Every person involved in a homicide case, from the patrol officer who gets the initial call, to the forensics technicians, to the detectives, and anyone else who may have come in contact with the case, is required to document exactly how they were involved and what they did. A typical homicide case will have thousands of pages of reports. Compare that to a burglary report, with maybe 12-15 pages. The 2008 double homicide that occurred downtown, for example, contained more than 2,500 pages of reports and more than 30 DVDs of recorded interviews and telephone conversations. Additonally, there were well over a dozen large boxes of physical evidence, including everything from DNA swabs and bullet casings, to clothes and suitcases, and even a car.
Furthermore, there are special laws and rules that apply to homicide investigations. Certain interviews must be recorded, either audibly or by video. In a homicide case, a detective team will follow leads that are likely to go nowhere, but they must be followed to their conclusion.
And when an arrest is finally made, the investigation still doesn't stop. Follow up interviews are done with potential witnesses and with people who may have little or nothing to offer for the case, but perhaps their name was brought up somehow. All leads and connections with the case must be explored and eliminated or expounded upon. This follow up continues right through to the trial phase of the case.
Upon conclusion of the trial, evidence and reports are kept almost indefinitely. Whereas in other types of cases, many pieces of evidence and property are destroyed by court order, in homicide cases this property is archived and kept for many decades.
Homicide cases are different. Homicide detectives have a different type of job. No greater honor will ever be bestowed on an officer, or a more profound duty imposed upon him, than to be entrusted to investigate the death of another human being.
In 2011, the crime rate as reported in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report went down in Greenville by more than 16%. The crime rate is the ratio of crimes to the population in an area; expressed per 100,000 population per year. It is the most accurate manner in which to compare jurisdictions of varying populations. It is also the most accurate manner in which to compare the crime in an individual jurisdiction over time because it takes into account changes in that jurisdiction’s population.
Each year when the previous year’s crime numbers are released by the NC SBI, they are given in raw numbers; that is the total number of index crimes reported to the police – not as the crime rate.
These raw numbers can easily be misinterpreted as the crime rate and may be reported as an increase or decrease in the crime rate.
To best understand crime trends, we should study the trend experienced over a number of years; not comparing just one year to the previous.
Actual numbers and rates tell the facts about crime trends. A community's perceptions about crime are just as likely to be affected by sensational news or singular events that draw attention to issues; a high profile incident or particularly violent crime for instance can lead people to assume the worst.
Police Departments everywhere work to reduce actual numbers, but they also work to affect the perception of crime and the perception of safety in the community. By comunicating openly with people and by involving citizens in the policing process, law enforcement agencies try to educate the community about the realities of crime and the work being done to make the community safer.
This summer the Greenville Police Department will seek re-accrediation under the nationally accepted professional standards of the Commission for Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, also known as CALEA.
Of 18,000 law enforcement agencies across America, only about 728 are nationally accredited.
National accredition is a recognition by its peers that the Greenville Police Department is operating under the best practices available and accepted by the police profession. It forces a department to adopt and adhere to nationally accepted professional standards. In summary, accreditation forces a police agency to strive for excellence.
GPD received its first accredited status in 1996. Accreditation at that time required the department to grow and change aggresively; to move from a small town police department with minimal technology and minimal training to a modern, forward-thinking agency. Accreditation drove the construction of our current police headquarters, as well as the development of personnel who are better trained and better equipped to address the needs of the community into the 21st Century.
Since that initial accreditation process, the Greenville Police Department has been re-examined several times by the CALEA representatives, and has been re-accredited each time. National accreditation is valid for 3 years.
As the re-accreditation process get nearer, the public will be asked to provide feedback to the accreditation assessment team, comprised a group of law enforcement professionals from across the nation who will come to Greenville in August and examine our department.
The assessment team will also examine closely all aspects of the department and will interview police officers and elected officials to determine if the department is doing all the things we are supposed to be doing.
Meeting the accreditation standards is not easy, but the benefts to the agency and to the community include a more professional law enforcement agency, a commitment to continual improvement and strategic planning, and a better police force overall, providing for a safer community.
When an emergency call to the police goes out, and the blue lights go on, that is where the training takes over. Supervisors and senior officers begin directing resources to where they are needed. Non-essential tasks are put aside. Decisions are made efficiently and orders are carried out .
It takes a large degree of coordination and teamwork, along with tactical and strategic planning to put the officers in the right place at the right time, and quickly, during an emergency call for service.
The radio communications between officers, the communications center, and the caller must provide for the effective flow of information to on-scene personnel because this is where lives are really at stake.
Police officers and dispatchers are accustomed to doing a lot of so-called "routine" assignments. But always there is the knowledge in the back of their minds that things can turn deadly serious without a moment's notice.
Here is a web link to the radio & telephone communications on a recent burglary in progress:
Anyone who listens to this audio should be able to sense the intensity of the situation. Officers from A-Platoon responded to this call quickly, and they handled the call professionally and with compassion for the victim.
For an inside look at a day (or night) in the life of a police officer, come ride along with the officers of the Greenville Police Department.
The Citizen Observer Program has been in place for over 20 years and is designed to allow cititzens a chance see what it is like "behind the scenes," so to speak. This ride-along program should provide you with valuable insight into the line operations of the Greenville Police Department. It will be informative and enjoyable.
Participants in this ride-along program will be assigned to ride with a patrol officer on a wide variety of calls for service. Most ride-alongs last for about 4-5 hours. You will have a chance to see what goes on each day or night in your city, and how the officers of the Greenville Police Department are working to keep our community safe.
If you are interested in going on a ride-along, just contact the Greenville Police Department at 329-4315, or come by an complete an application form. Sorry, but criminals need not apply. A background check will be conducted on you, just to make sure you are one of the good guys, and once approved, you will be informed when you can ride.
We ask that you come neatly dressed. No jeans allowed. You cannot bring your camera or tape recorder, and you will have to sign a release.
The officers you ride with will be happy to discuss their duties and responsibilities, and just about anything else you want to talk about. And, while every effort will be made to provide for your safety, the police officer's first responsibility will be to carry out their assigned duties. You will be required to sign a liability waiver. Remember, law enforcement can inolve danger and serious risks. You will not be permitted to leave the patrol car at the scene of any police calls. As they say at Busch-Gardens, "Keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times."
If you want to see what policing on the streets is really all about, come ride with us.
Back in the 1970s, there was a TV Public Service Announcement that went simply, "It's 11:00, do you know where your children are?"
Now that summertime is officially here, and since it doesn't even get dark until after 8:30 pm, it might be good time now to remind folks that the City of Greenville does have a curfew for juveniles under the age of 16.
Inside the city limits, it is unlawful for any juvenile less than 16 years old to be out on the public streets, or in any public place, at night after 11:00 pm, Sunday through Thursday nights. A juvenile under 16 may not be in any public place after 12:00 am on Friday and Saturday nights. The curfew is effective until 6:00 am each day.
This curfew ordinance was adopted by the Greenville City Council In September 2008.
At the time of its adoption into law, the City had determined that there had been a recent increase in juvenile violence and juvenile gang and crime activity. Since becoming law, there have been about 20 curfew violations documented in case reports.
There are a number of exceptions to this ordinance. Here are just a few: A juvenile may be in the company of a parent or guardian, or other adult at least 18 years old. The juvenile may be traveling to or from school, work, church, or some other place, or the juvenile may be participating in some other extracurricular activities recognized by the ordinance.
Whenever a police officer encounters a juvenile out after curfew hours, the officer is required to determine why the juvenile is out and to notifiy the parents of the juvenile. The officer may have to take the juvenile into custody for safekeeping if no parent or guardian can be located.
A juvenile who is in violation of this curfew may face court penalties, and be declared a deliquent. Parents may be fined and held civilly liable, too.
The goal of this curfew isn't to punish juveniles or parents. Rather it is intended to protect young people, to keep them safe, and to keep them from making mistakes that could affect them in very negative ways.
Getting back to that old TV announcement from the 1970s, Here is a modern take:
