A recent law enforcement meeting has local agencies on their toes and ready to combat crime by working together.
Lowndes County, Columbus and other nearby law enforcement agencies met Thursday afternoon regarding the recent outbreak of burglaries.
According to Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Greg Wright, those attending the meeting included LCSO Criminal Investigations Division deputies, Lowndes Patrol Division deputies, Columbus Police Department Criminal Investigation Division officers, the Lamar County chief investigator, the Pickens County chief deputy and the chief investigator with a district of the Alabama District Attorney’s office.
Wright called it a “productive meeting” and affirmed that it was in response to the burglaries.
Pickens County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Greg Carr echoed Wright’s comments that it was “a very productive meeting” and the best result is the communication between the agencies.
“I think right now the best thing we’re getting out of it is the information sharing between agencies, and hoping that will help one of the agencies that is having problems,” Carr said.
The PCSO has dealt with some burglaries but not to the extent that Lowndes County has, Carr said.
“We’ve had some and they’ve been sporadic along the state line,” Carr said, noting there have been five or so in the past month. “Nothing really concentrated in one area.”
Wright said 49 burglaries occurred in the sheriff’s office jurisdiction from Dec. 1 to Jan. 1. North Columbus, Caledonia and New Hope areas are being hit the worst.
Columbus police also have dealt with high numbers of burglaries, CPD Investigator Tommie Watkins said.
“We’re starting to work together more now and continue working together in the future,” he said, noting he is glad the meeting was held.
“We’re going to get back together and discuss more stuff and discuss things that were going on in all counties.”
This is not the first time the CPD and LCSO have teamed up in 2012. According to McQueen and Watkins, the two agencies planned and executed a roadblock setup on Highway 45 North near Spivey Road on New Year’s Eve night and into the next morning.
“We all got together and a few highway patrol was there, too. All of us set up there and tried to get the drunk drivers off the street,” Watkins said.
Arledge and McQueen have a brief history on the political front. McQueen was the Democrat candidate in the Lowndes County sheriff race after winning his party’s primary election. He was set to face Arledge, the Republican candidate who eventually won the election, but dropped out due to possible Hatch Act violations regarding his then-position of interim police chief.
“I’ve learned that cooperation, even among people with widely disparate views, invariably works better in achieving common goals than assuming an adversarial stance. That’s why I’m disappointed when reading or hearing disparaging public comments being made by a small percentage of citizenry,” McQueen said.
A resident’s tale
One burglary victim said even with the recent arrest and potential second arrest, he still does not feel safe.
Chris, of New Hope, had his house broken into Dec. 22. The burglars took a flat-screen television, a handheld camcorder, Nintendo Wii games and jewelry.
“It was all high-end stuff,” said Chris, who asked The Dispatch not to include his last name for fear of retaliation. Attempts were made to contact a burglary victim who would give their full name, but attempts were unsuccessful.
When asked if he feels safe, Chris replied, “Absolutely not.”
“I sleep with a gun every night now,” he added. “My youngest boy, 5 years old, has been physically shaken. I ain’t worried about the stuff, but what they physically did to him is what bothers me.”
Chris said one neighbor saw someone enter his house at 8:45 a.m. while another neighbor saw someone leave at 9:30 a.m. Chris said no one was home when the incident happened. He praised the deputy who responded to the house but still wants to find a solution.
“If we need more cops, then I wouldn’t mind paying more taxes to make us safer,” he said.
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