Friday, March 12, 2010

Thieves Break Into Local Businesses on Village Road

Thieves smashed in glass window panes in businesses located at the Leland Business Center sometime during the night of March 11th - 12th, stealing computers, portable radios and cash.  The businesses that were hit in the poorly lit area were the Leland Copy Center and Bella's Boutique, a retail clothing store specializing in school uniforms and clothing.

Though material items were taken and substantial damage received at the businesses, the damage, according to one employee at Bella's, goes further then that.  What they are most upset about is more then just the material loss, for Bella's is more then just a retail clothing store. Bella's also offers services to children that may have problems at school, home or in just dealing with being children.  They provide counseling and assistance with juvenile coping skills, such as anger issues or problems with school work.  Beyond the retail store, there are several rooms designed to allow kids to work together on team-building and problem-solving projects, providing a place to speak to certified counselors and help both children and parents identify possible behavioral problems.  Many students are referred to Bella's by other social workers and programs.

"We'll fix the damage and replace the clothes, toys and other items taken.  It just hurts to think people would do something like this when we have the community's best interests at heart."

Often we forget about the victims and don't remember how crimes can impact people more then just a callous disregard for someone else's property.  Sometimes, it impacts people more then just replacing material goods, as with Bella's.

Detectives are aggressively investigating this case.  If anyone has information concerning this crime, please contact the Leland Police Department.

Third Citizen's Police Academy Kicks-Off in Leland


On March 3rd, the Leland Police Department welcomed nine Leland residents to the Department's third Citizen's Police Academy.  The Citizen's Police Academy is an effort by the police department to familiarize citizens with some of the aspects involved with being a police officer, including training in traffic, SWAT, and domestic violence, as well as other job requirements and responsibilities.

There are many things that police officers do that the general public may not realize they do, Chief Timothy Jayne told the class in his introduction.  He emphasized that this was a good way for individuals not trained as police officer to see that it is more then just patrolling the town and catching criminals or speeders.  In fact, being a police officer requires preparation to respond at a seconds notice to situations that may sometimes prove to be serious if not life-threatening, both to victims and officers alike.

This point was reiterated by former graduates of the program who told the new "recruits" that what they learned proved to be invaluable in understanding what officers do, an understanding that created a greater interest in them to work with their Neighborhood Watch Programs and volunteer at the police department.  Its with citizen participation that allows us to combat some of the issues of crime and other problems in our community Chief Jayne said.

The program will last approximately 12 weeks and graduation will be in early May with a recognition ceremony at May's Town Council Meeting.

January/February Crime Stats Indicate Break-Ins Still a Problem

The Leland Police Department conducted its second in what will be a monthly briefing of the Chief, Division Commanders and Sergeants concerning crime trends and analysis. These Crime Statistics, or COMPSTAT, meetings are part of Chief Jayne's Community Problem Oriented Policing (C-POP) initiative to identify and address crime trends or nuisance calls through a combination of traditional policing techniques and innovative cooperative efforts with other town departments, such as code enforcement and public works, private and commercial businesses, and Leland residents.

The analysis of the Crime Trends indicated that property crimes dominated crimes that are experienced by Leland residents, accounting for 64% of reported crimes in January and 70% in February. These crimes include break-ins, fraud, larcenies and property damage. Of these, break-ins into unlocked vehicles where property such as wallets, cell-phones and computers were left in plain view continued the trend experienced in previous months. Efforts have been made to address these issues through increased patrols and citizen awareness but vehicles continue to remain unlocked and property removed. The issue of addressing these "soft targets" will now be addressed by Corporal Rob Ernest, the department's Community Resource Officer, by ensuring that Neighborhood Watch Programs are made aware of these trends and provided methods to ensure residents know to lock their vehicles and remove property from inside them.

Shoplifting also appeared to be a problem, especially at Wal-Mart, with officers responding to 20 shoplifting calls over the past 2 months.

Sergeants Clarke, Naughton and Otto addressed crimes specific to each "beat". In District 1 - the area off of Village Road and Old Fayetteville and including Windsor Park - experienced the highest level of reported crimes, including 14 residential break-ins over the past two months. A majority of these break-ins occurred in the newer, less populated areas of Windsor Park and increased patrols and coordination with the Neighbor Watch Program in Windsor Park was recommended. District 1 also included several police initiated contacts with individuals in "suspicious" situations and DWI's.

In District 2 - Waterford, Magnolia Greens, Lanvale Road and Greyson Park - larcenies accounted for the majority of reported crimes. Though this included 2 larcenies from motor vehicles and 6 larcenies of motor vehicles - all of which were recovered - District 2 experienced the lowest level of reported crimes (41).

District 3 - Westport, Mallory Creek and areas east and south of US 17, 74 and 76 - were dominated by shoplifting from Wal-Mart. The second highest reported crimes were traffic offenses, which included 9 crashes, one DWI and one hit-and-run.

Finally, Sgt Hank Smith addressed repeat and nuisance calls which included responses to false alarms and school bus/driver related offenses, such as illegal passing. Adopting fees for repeated calls to false alarms are being explored while a meeting with school officials concerning the bus issue has already been conducted to address their issue.

By continuing this effort of crime analysis and addressing crimes through both traditional and non-traditional methods, it is hoped that the Leland Police Department can better address the concerns of their residents.