GPD cuts back on crime
By Justin Lovorrn
Crime overall is down 38% from 2017 to 2018 in the city of Greenville and our closure rate of cases is up by 5%. Here are some reason’s we believe crime is decreasing.
The Greenville Police Department (GPD) is working hard to make Greenville a safer place for all those who live and work here. We have not only decreased the total amount of crime, but increased the amount of cases solved during the same time frame.
The department has implemented several new strategies to lower crime in the last two years. This includes concentrated patrol areas, unmarked patrol units, exceptional training for officers, the use of cameras and community policing based initiatives.
The concentrated patrol areas help officers to focus on areas that have more criminal activity than others. We break down the crimes that occur by looking at the times and locations that we have the most problems.
The officers will spend more time and saturate the area by patrolling and interacting with those who live in the affected area in order to be more visible and deter crime.
The GPD also uses unmarked units to patrol areas in order to catch a crime in progress. They can easily blend in long enough to see what is occurring before a criminal realizes that it is a police car.
We also provide the most advanced training possible for our officers in order for them to be able to use that training to solve crime, as well as, prevent crime.
This includes the following type trainings that have taken place over the last two years: a four week mobile device analysis class sponsored by the Secret Service with over $5,000 worth of equipment donated to our department to use in solving crimes; self-defense Instructor certification courses that allow us to teach civilians how to better protect themselves; FBI certified Firearms Instructor course; Risk Assessment and Vulnerability Assessment Certification that allow us to evaluate local businesses and schools to show them how they can better protect their employees and/or students; Active Shooter training for all officers; FBI crisis negotiation course to supplement our Special Response Teams efforts in resolving high risk incidents, and advanced level tactical training for Special Response Team members.
We also use cameras at strategic locations around the city that aid us in solving crimes once they happen. The information on these cameras is confidential and is only used in the event of a crime taking place.
We do not use them to write traffic citations, however we do monitor traffic with them to determine problem areas.
One of the most important things the GPD has done over the past two years is Community based policing. It is a top priority for the department to build a relationship with the community we serve.
To be truly successful requires that we earn the communities trust and respect. The department has developed and implemented several outreach programs to involve our community and provide for their needs.
We have started a Cops and Kids day that is held at the police department once a year. This allows adults and children to come out and meet the officers in a neutral setting.
We grill free hotdogs and have games for the kids, as well as, an air jumps obstacle course. We also have our vehicles and equipment on display for everyone to look at and learn how we use them. There are other vendors who are invited to show off their equipment as well.
Our officers have also made it a point to enter each business and speak to the employees to find out if any problems exist that we can help them with. We also offer trainings for civilians including what to do in the event of an Active Shooter, Self-defense classes, Risk Assessment for businesses and schools, Robbery prevention, Safety awareness, and a Firearms familiarization course.
