Not his to sell...

On Friday April 27, Greenville Police Officer J.L. Peterson was called to the report of a stolen truck from 1311 West 14th Avenue.  The owner was reporting that his red 1977 Ford Pick-up was stolen from a fenced in area. 

Officer Peterson took the necessary information from the owner and completed his report.  The owner told Officer Peterson that he had already been looking at area salvage yards to see if somebody had taken the truck there.

A few hours after the report, the owner called the police again to say he found his truck at Empire Salvage Yard, on NC Hwy 903, a few miles north of Greenville.

Apparently, whoever stole the truck took it to the Empire Salvage Yard to sell as scrap metal.  The owner found the truck before it could be crushed, but many parts of the truck had already been removed, namely the radiator, battery, and some tire rims.

Police and Sheriff's deputies identified the man who sold the truck to Empire Salvage. His name is Michael Donnell Williams of Fountan, NC.  Officer Peterson later obtained  arrest warrants against Michael Williams for Auto Larceny, Felony Larceny, and Obtaining Property by False Pretense.

Stealing cars and trucks and selling them for scrap metal is a big business nationwide.  It has become such a big problem that recently new laws were enacted that require salvage yards to obtain positive identification as well as a fingerprint of the person who is selling the vehicle for scrap.

Fortunately in this case, the truck had not been crushed.  Greenville Police Officers have seen incidents in the past where stolen cars and trucks had already been completely demolished and crushed before they were identified as stolen.

Besides cars,  stolen car parts being sold for scrap is also a nationwide problem.  Catalytic Converters are stolen from cars and trucks and sold quite often.  Copper theft is also a multi-million dollar industry.  New laws enacted in the past few years require positive identification for all people who sell copper as scrap, but much of the copper is melted and sold far away from where it is actually stolen.

As for Michael Williams and the stolen '77 Ford Pick-up truck,  He got paid $739 by the scrap yard, and will be arrested soon.  Employees of the scrap yard told police that Williams had already been there just a few days earlier and sold them a 1967 Chevrolet. . . .Now we have to wonder if that car was ever his to sell in the first place.

Be on time...

From time to time people ask about the process of becoming a police officer.  Here is some information on how that works:

The Greenville Police Department accepts job applications during periods of active recruitment.  Applications must be completed and submitted electronically through our employment link at: http://www.greenvillenc.gov.

If the department is not currently accepting applications, you can still submit an Email alert request to be notified when the recruiting process opens again.  It is important for potential applicants to remember that the department only accepts applications for a 2-week period before the beginning of our testing cycle.

Once the 2-week application period is closed, each application received is reviewed for the following minimum criteria:

·   You must be currently enrolled or have successfully completed the NC Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) program.

·   You must be a U.S. citizen.

·   You must be a high school graduate or have passed the GED        test.

·   You must have a valid NC Driver’s license and have an        acceptable driving record.

·    You must be at least 20 years old at the time of testing.

·   You must be of good moral character with no  disqualifying  criminal convictions

Applicants who meet the minimum criteria are allowed to proceed to the next phase of the recruiting process, which is the physical agility testing.  All applicants participate in the Police Officer Physical Agility (POPAT) test.

Qualified applicants who pass the POPAT phase are invited to an interview board.  They sit before a 4-member board and answer a series of standardized questions dealing with police issues, ethics, and other topics.

Those applicants who pass through the interview board are then given a polygraph examination.  At this stage, applicants are questioned about their truthfulness in areas of their personal and professional life relevant to being a police officer.  Applicants must be truthful regarding issues about their application questions, prior employment, illegal drug use, as well as their overall integrity.

A psychological examination is provided to applicants who pass the polygraph testing.  This examination is mandatory for any candidate applying to become a law enforcement officer in North Carolina.

Applicants who pass the psychological examination are then given a conditional job offer, contingent upon their passing a rigid background investigation, a medical screening, and a drug screening test.

After all testing is completed the results of the application process are forwarded to the Chief of Police for review with a recommendation.  A final job offer is then extended to the candidate.

It’s a long process that may take several months, but in the end, those candidates with the desire, aptitude, integrity and other qualifications will be hired and begin their training as Greenville Police Officers.

Anyone who wants more information can contact our Personnel & Recruiting Officer, Cpl. K.Z. Edwards.  Her telephone number is: 329-4102.

What's love got to do with it...

On Wednesday April 18 at about 9:00 pm, Greenville Patrol Officer M.C. Verdin was called to the intersection of Evans Street & Deck Street in reference to a dispute in progress.

Officer Verdin met the victim who told the officer that her boyfriend Christopher Bizzell had beaten and kicked her.  The victim told officers that she had picked up Bizzell on Arthur Street, and once in the car, Bizzell threatened to kill her, and that he punched her in the face.

The victim reports that she stopped the car and allowed Bizzell to drive, and that Bizzell then took her cell phone and threw it from the car.  The victim got out to retrieve her cell phone, and she says Bizzell then tried to run her over with the car.

The victim told police that Bizzell got out of the car and then kicked her several times until she was unconscious.   She said that when she came to, Bizzell was gone.



Christopher Bizzell



Officer Verdin obtained arrest warrants for Bizzell, charging him with Assault with a Deadly Weapon,  Assault on a Female, Communicating a Threat, and Damage to Property

Bizzell has prior charges for Assault on a Female.

Christopher Bizzell was located and arrested on April 23, 2012. 

He was jailed under a $2,000 secured bond.  Bizzell has since posted bond and is now out of jail, pending his court date.

It's not so difficult..

Community Watch is one of the oldest and most effective crime prevention programs in the country.  It brings citizens together to deter crime and make communities safer.  

Community Watch counts on citizens to organize themselves and work with the police to keep a trained eye and ear on their communities, while demonstrating their presence at all times of day and night.  Community Watch works because it reduces opportunities for crime to occur.

Why start a Community Watch?  

Because law enforcement officers cannot be on every street corner, citizen involvement is necessary to combat crime.   You and your neighbors are the ones who really know what is going on in your community. By cooperating with each other and with the police, citizens can help fight crime in the most effective way – by preventing the victimization of themselves, their families and friends. You are the key element in fighting crime.
 

How to get started:

• Hold an initual meeting with a core group of neighbors and get to know each other.   Invite others as you get organized.
• Consider linking with an existing neighorhood organization, such as a homeowner's association, community development office, tenants’ association, or housing authority. They may be able to provide an existing infrastructure you can use.
• Canvass door-to-door to recruit members and inform them about community watch.
• Start an Email or telephone list so people can stay in touch with each other quickly;   looking out for children and reporting any unusual activities in the neighborhood.
• Invite the Crime Prevention Officer or other law enforcement officer to speak at your original meeting to help get your Community Watch program started.  The police can provide you with materials and safety information.

What next?

• Be a good neighbor.  Watch out for each other.  Stay alert to strangers or other suspicious acitivities.  Communicate with your neighbors and keep them informed.
• Call the police whenever you see something that seems out of place, and inform your neighbors.

In a nutshell, that's all there is to it.  You can help keep your neighborhood safe and reduce crime in your city by simply talking with your neighbors and keeping an eye on things.

It's a process...

About 6 years ago, the Greenville Police Department began using the Compstat policing model as a crime fighting and management tool.  Here is some basic information about that process:

The term “Compstat” is derived from the words, “Computer” and “Statistics” and denotes the importance of management decisions based on relevant and accurate crime data, usually generated by computerized crime analysis. 

Using real-time crime analysis, Area Commanders at GPD report to the Chief’s Staff on a periodic basis and summarize the crime activity in their assigned area for a given time frame.  More importantly, the Commanders then address what they plan to do in the upcoming time frame to predict, prevent, suppress, or solve the crime problems they have identified. 

Area Commanders may use a variety of resources to address the problems they’ve identified, including code enforcement units and other civil agencies, investigative resources such as detective units, uniformed resources such as special operations patrol units, and assigned shift patrol officers.  They also seek to involve the community members in the problem solving efforts, in order to leverage resources which would not normally be available to the police. 

The Compstat Policing model identifies four (4) key elements which are necessary if Compstat is to be a successful strategy:

1)     Accurate and Timely Intelligence Information

2)    Effective Tactics

3)    A Rapid Deployment of Personnel and Resources

4)    Relentless Follow-Up and Assessment

  Without accurate and timely intelligence information, Compstat Policing simply would not be effective, and resources such as personnel would be wasted by misuse and misapplication.

Timeliness is everything in respect to follow up:  Information can go stale very quickly and Compstat Policing requires the application of valuable resources addressing a problem in a timely manner, therefore “real-time” intelligence has become one of the most valuable commodities in the police department. 

Once a police Commander receives accurate and timely information, he must deploy resources and employ effective tactics to address the problem.  For instance the Commander may augment a directed patrol order with meetings involving stakeholders (property owners, business managers, community watch groups, etc.) to address a situation, or they might seek input from code enforcement and other city-directed departments (public works, inspections, etc.).  Depending upon the nature of the crime problem, a manager may implement something like an undercover buy/bust operation with the department Drug Unit, develop and use a traffic safety plan with the department Traffic Safety Unit, or develop and implement some other strategy. 

By having managers (area commanders, etc) with the authority to commit resources as they see fit, the delay of problem solving approaches is minimized.  The deployment of personnel may involve changing or adjusting work schedules on short notice.  In many instances, paying overtime to officers in order to maximize resources is part of the manager’s authority. 

Probably the most difficult part of the Compstat Policing process is the final element: Relentless Follow-Up and Assessment.   It allows commanders to manage personnel effectively by making adjustments as needed.  Assessment of the solution will discern whether or not a plan is meeting its intended goals.   

Comstat Policing in Greenville includes elements of Community Oriented Policing best practices, and the Greenville Police Department is working now to adapt to a more intelligence-led, predictive policing methodology, intended to maximize the effective use of our personnel and other resources.  

Opening the 2011 Caldwell Court Substation

Reported UCR part 1 crimes have declined 16% since 2010.  And there has been an overall 5-year reduction of 23% in the crime rate in Greenville.

There is little doubt that the Compstat policing practices adopted by the GPD have helped in this reduction.  Officers and staff will continue to try and keep the trend downward, and look forward to partnering with members of our community toward that goal.

A thief in the night...

Detectives from the Property Crimes Unit have obtained surveillance photographs of 2 people who are considered as suspects in the most recent wave of car break-ins along East 14^th Street.

Surveillance photographs from the nights of April 13-15, taken between the hours of 2—5 am at the Greenville Teen Center, show these 2 suspects as they walked through the area. The 2 suspects broke into the concession stand on April 13.  They were in the same area again and broke into the concession stand again on the night of April 15 when the car break-ins took place.  The Teen Center is located near the intersection of E. Greenville Blvd, and East 14^th Street. 

In the surveillance pictures, 2 white male suspects are pictured.  They appear to be teenaged males, and one suspect is considerably taller than the other.  The taller suspect appears to be about 6‘ tall.  He is wearing basketball shorts with a white stripe on the side, a long sleeve shirt, and he has a backpack.  He has dark hair.  The shorter suspect is about 5’ tall, and seen wearing dark pants, possibly shorts, a long sleeve shirt, and he appears to be wearing a baseball hat.

This case investigation is continuing and detectives are working to develop additional leads.  Any person who can identify the 2 suspects in these photographs, is asked to call the Greenville Police Department at 252-329-4315.



Weekend update...

It was a busy weekend for the police.  On Saturday morning, April 15, Greenville Police officers responded to 23 reports of car break-ins around the East 14^th Street corridor.  In almost every case, thieves targeted unlocked cars and stole valuable electronics, purses, loose change, and other items.

In some of these case reports, thieves stole purses and wallets, and then discarded them nearby after having searched through them for money and credit cards.  In a few of the cases, physical evidence was recovered by the police.

The Greenville Police Department is investigating these cases and detectives are developing a few leads. 

The Department asks the public to please report any suspicious activity to the police department.  Anyone having information on these cases is asked to call the Greenville Police Department at 252-329-4315, or Pitt-Greenville CrimeStoppers at 252-758-7777.

Early on  Sunday, April 15, a young man reported that he had been robbed and shot after meeting 2 women at a local nightclub.  After the nightclub was closed, the man apparantly was invited to socialize with the women, who took him in their car for a ride.  After a brief ride, the women stopped the car on a side street near Greensprings Park.  4 suspects then approached the car and robbed the young man.  He was shot in the leg as he tried to run away.  The women drove away.

On Sunday afternoon,  April 15,  a car crash on S. Memorial Drive at about 5:00 pm knocked out power in the area and closed Memorial Drive to traffic for several hours.  The patrol officers called on our Citizens On Patrol volunteers [COPs] to assist with the enormous traffic problem, and the volunteers COPs stepped up in a big way.  The COPs assisted with traffic diversion and traffic direction for several hours.