In the act...



Between 3 and 4am Monday morning, August 13, 2012 Greenville Patrol Officers from A-Platoon caught and arrested 2 suspects who were actively breaking into cars at South Square Apartments.   Prior to this,  on the same night, patrol officers found a man attempting to break into the Trade-Wilco Gas Station on SW Greenville Blvd.  That man, too, was caught and arrested.

Catching suspects "in flagrante delicto" is relatively unusual.  It can be a combination of timing, alertness,  and some luck.  But it is always rewarding for a police officer to have prevented a crime and captured a criminal.

Too often, officers arrive to the scene of a crime after an event has occurred.  As for preventing crimes, one can never know how many offenses are truly prevented by timely patrols, traffic stops or business checks.

Sixty years ago this week,  on August 16, 1952,   Greenville Police Officer Jesse E. Mills was checking businesses on his assigned beat when he came on 2 men breaking in to the New Deal Cleaners on Dickinson Avenue.

Officer Mills found a ladder pushed up against the building.  One man was on top the roof.  Another was hidden inside a doorway.   As Officer Mills found and confronted the 2 men, one of them pulled a revolver and shot Officer Mills at least 3 times from near point blank range.  

Officer Jesse Mills became the first Greenville Police Officer to be felonously killed in the line of duty.  When his body was found,  he was still wearing his cap and glasses.  His pistol was a lying few feet away.  His flashlight was in his hand, still shining.

A week long manhunt finally located and identified the 2 men who murdered Officer Jesse Mills.  They had come to Greenville earlier that day from Jacksonville and their car had broken down.   The 2 had just previously broken into another laundromat and their attempt at breaking into the New Deal Cleaners appears to have been done in order to get money to fix their broken car.

The men were convicted of murder and sentenced to long prison terms.  

To catch a criminal in the act requires being in the right place at the right time.  But as the death of Officer Jesse Mills clearly demonstrates,  there is also a chance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

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hang up and drive...

The Greenville Police Traffic Safety Unit is focusing on speed limit and traffic safety enforcement this week in the following areas:

• W. Arlington Blvd between W. 5th Street and Memorial Drive
• Firetower Road between S. Evans Street and E. Arlington Blvd
• N. Memorial Drive between the Tar River and the intersection with Hwy 903.

Please slow down and obey your traffic rules and regulations.  Our goal is voluntary compliance with traffic safety laws, so everyone travels and arrives safely at their destination.

Please avoid distracted driving!   Unmarked cars and motorcycle units are alert for drivers who text or use handheld devices while trying to drive at the same time.

Remember, you may save a life by slowing down and by paying attention to your driving instead of looking at a smart phone. 

You may also avoid a ticket.

In and out...

The Greenville Police Department arrests enough people each year to fill up the Pitt County Detention Center 10 times.   More than 5,000 people. 

What happens to all these people after thay are convicted and sentenced?   Many of them convicted of non-violent crimes are  given credit for their time already served in jail waiting for trial.  They are then released.  They may be ordered to pay a fine, or they may be ordered to serve probation,  either supervised or unsupervised.    Some of these people served short sentences in the local jail, and are then released to serve time on probation.  

Those persons covicted of violent crimes, or some repeat offenders, may be sentenced to serve more time in prison.  They are then often transported to a State-run prison facility somewhere in the State of NC,  depending upon where a facility may have open space and depending on what type of crime and level of security is needed for that particular person.

As fast as people are being put into jail,   it is important for the public to remember there are just as many people being released from jail,  and they are coming out and coming back to our community, just about as fast as the others are going in.

The average person can find out who is being released from prison by searching the North Carolina Department of Corrections Website. 

This is the web link:    http://www.doc.state.nc.us/

On that website is a another link to search "Inmate Releases."  Any person can search this link and find out who has been released back into their community.   Using this website, we found that 47 offenders were released back to Pitt County in July 2012.  Almost everyone who was released had completed their required prison sentence.  Beside the name of each person being released is listed the crimes for which they were jailed.

A quick search tells us that on average about 50 people are released to Pitt County each month.  Pitt  County is only 1 of 100 counties in North Carolina.

What is truly unfortunate about the release information is the fact that many of these people are repeat offenders and will return to prison again.  But that is a topic for another day.

As a side note,  there is also a link on the NC DOC website about the death penalty in NC, with listings and details about nearly every person on death row, and the death penalty in NC.  

A person can learn a lot of stuff on the internet.

Today's history lesson...

Sir Robert Peel

In 1829 the Home Secretary of Great Britain, Sir Robert Peel, created the first police force for London.  These constables were soon nicknamed, "Bobbies."  And they are still called that today.

Peel later became the British Prime Minister in the mid 1830s.

With an interest in the law, Sir Peel also established his nine principles of policing, which i have listed below.  As we examine these principles, we find they have not become outdated even in the 21st century.  Perhaps they are more relevant than ever in today's world.

As you read and consider these  principles, think about events and issues regarding modern policing.  Consider the emphasis being placed on the concept of Community-Oriented Policing.  Reflect on the importantance of community partnerships, and building relationships between your police department and your community members.

I think you will see that Sir Robert Peel was a dang smart fellow.

 1 - “The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.”

 2 - “The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.”

 3 - “Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.”

4 - “The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.” 

 5 - “Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to the public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.” 
6 - “Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.” 
 7 - “Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.” 
 8 - “Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.”
9 - “The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.”

For the children...

The Greenville Police Department Police Athletic League (PAL) chapter was recently awarded a grant from the Greenville Noon Rotary Club in the amount of $1,500. 

This grant money will fund the annual PAL Shop With A Cop event, which is an outreach event where Greenville Police Officers take underprivileged and at-risk children back to school shopping for their school uniforms.  

Shop With A Cop will take place on Saturday August 4, beginning at 7:00 am, with a breakfast for the children donated by the Chick-Fil-A restaurant at University Commons Shopping Center. 

The Greenville PAL program will partner with the Salvation Army and select 30 kids to go shopping for their 2012-13 school uniforms at JC Penney’s in the Greenville Mall.  Members of the Greenville Noon Rotary Club will also participate.

JC Penney’s will open their doors early especially for the children involved in this outreach event. 

Shop With A Cop is an annual event that has been in effect for 3 years.  Meghan Butler is the PAL program coordinator for the Greenville Police Department.  For more  information, contact Meghan at 252-329-4384.

Pay attention when you hear it...

We've seen it on TV and heard it on the radio, but what is an AMBER Alert and how does it work?

Most people know the AMBER Alert is an announcement in the media about a missing or abducted child.   Did you know the word, AMBER is an acronym for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response?  The acronym was created to honor a third-grader named Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and killed in 1996 while riding her bicycle in front of her grandparents' home in Arlington, Texas.

The North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety administers NC's AMBER Alert program, through the NC Center of Missing Persons.  The program was established in 2002.  NC's first AMBER Alert was issued for an abducted infant in Charlotte, who was taken during a vehicle theft in August, 2003.  The child was located and recovered safely.

From time-to-time,  parents of runaway teenagers request that police issue an AMBER Alert for their child.  Due to the nature of the AMBER Alert program and submission criteria, runaways are not eligible to be considered for AMBER Alert notifications.

In order to issue an AMBER Alert, the follow circumstances must exist:

1. The child must be 17 years old or younger
2. You must believe the child was abducted
3. The child cannot have been taken by a parent, unless the child's life is in danger
4. The child is not a runaway or missing voluntarily
5. You must have filed a report with your local law enforcement

The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons is the only agency that can activate an AMBER Alert.  It will do so only at the request of  a law enforcement agency.

Before an AMBER Alert is issued, the Center  will determine whether there is sufficient information to justify AMBER Alert activation. For instance, there must be sufficient descriptive information on the child, and on the abductor and/or abductor's vehicle. This is required in order for the public to be on the lookout for something. It does no good to activate an AMBER Alert if there is insufficient information available to the public. 

Furthermore,  if AMBER Alerts were activated every time a juvenile went missing or ran away from home, there would be hundreds of alerts  out there and they would likely lose their sense of urgency and effectivenes.   

Because the criteria for issuing an AMBER Alert is so stringent, It is important for the public to know that when they hear an AMBER Alert being broadcast, then there is sufficient information and evidence to believe the child is in real danger, and the person who is suspected of abducting the child is a signifcant threat to child's life.

 It can be difficult to tell a parent who's child is missing that no AMBER Alert can be broadcast for them, but the AMBER Alert system is effective because it is not over-used, or abused.

In 2011,  the NC Center for Missing Persons issued 12 AMBER Alerts.  In each case, the child was recovered safely.

 

To stay informed...

At the end of each 12-hour patrol shift,  the Patrol Supervisor types a summary of the day's activity and sends a copy to all personnel in the police department.  This summary includes significant or noteworthy calls for police service,  noteworthy arrests, or other events relevent to the police department such as power outage,  flooded streets, car crash,  whether or not any special enforcement operations took place, etc...

In this way, Police Department Supervisors and other personnel are able to see the highlights and a summary of what has occurred during the previous 12 hours within the City of Greenville.

This summary is called the "End of Shift Report."   A typical end of shift report will look something like this one:

Area B:

2012-34353;  B&E Residential, 107B Juniper Lane

Incident occurred between 1600 and 0315 hours.  Suspect kicked in the rear door and removed a 55” Sony LCD (NCIC) and 5 PS3 video games.  No latent evidence. 

Area C:

12-34344-Breaking, Entering & Larceny-At 346 Haven Drive Apt-X1. Occurred between 1600 Hrs. on 05/31/2012 and 0138 Hrs. on 06/01/2012. Point of entry a kitchen window located in the rear of the residence. A 32” Sylvania TV was taken from the victim’s bedroom. The victim’s bedroom was ransacked. A liquor cabinet located in the living room was opened. The television was entered into NCIC. No latent evidence recovered.

2012-34343;  1^st Degree Burglary, 3439 S. Memorial Drive

Incident occurred around 0115 hours.  The suspect entered the hotel room while the occupant was in the shower and removed a box containing make up that looked like a jewelry box.  The suspect, Salomen Mateo (several other aliases), was located by Officer Young in the PNC Bank pva at Mall Drive and was positively identified by witnesses who were in the pva.  He was given a $25,000 bond.   

2012-34333;   B&E Residential, 3288 #610 Colony Ct.

Incident occurred between 1700 and 2300 hours.  Suspect entered the apartment by “unknown means” and removed an Emerson 32” flat screen(NCIC), a Sony Cybershot camera (NCIC) and an assortment of jewelry.  No latent evidence. 

Officer Young located Justin O’Neal Barnes who was one of the remaining from Operation Clean Sweep.  Mr. Barnes was given a $300,000 bond

The End of Shift Report provides a snapshot of the Police Department's activity during a 12 hour window.  These reports are distribued twice daily.

Keeping people briefed and up to speed on the events of the day is an important piece of the management process, especially in a department with 188 police officers, spread across the city and working 24 hours each day, serving more than 80,000 customers.