In a recent poll question, East Ridge News Online asked readers if they had ever been a victim of a home or auto burglary.
Not surprisingly, 62 percent of the people who voted said that their home or car had been broken into. I’ve had two cars broken into and items stolen and the door of my home was kicked in by a thief who grabbed my wife’s jewelry and some change on her dresser.
At the time of this burglary, I was working a lot at night at the Free Press and my wife was very frightened to be home alone. In short it was traumatic.
When a citizen spoke at last week’s City Council meeting about having been the victim of six burglaries at his home, he was outraged. It did not appear that he was outraged by having been the victim of a crime, but of the police department’s lack of action in trying to bring the thief to heel.
He made some strong allegations about the lack of leadership in the department and how the investigative arm of the ERPD is utilized or more to his point, not utilized.
I’ve been told for years by command staff of ERPD that property crimes are the city’s biggest problem. Dopers steal to turn the proceeds of their crime into drugs.
A glance at the TBI’s 2014 Crime in Tennessee report (the most current year available) reveals the extent of the problem. There were 564 reported thefts from homes, buildings or cars in 2014. Only 56 of those crimes were cleared _ meaning someone was arrested, it was proved to be fraudulent or the cops knew who did it but couldn’t find them. That’s just under 10 percent for a solve rate.
But, the same law enforcement brass that has reiterated time and time again that property crimes are a problem also emphasize that they are very difficult to solve. The reason, they suggest, is that more often than not there are no witnesses and the police have little to go on. Many homeowners don’t write down serial numbers of big ticket items like computers, TVs, electronics and weapons, making it difficult for police to identify property if it’s recovered.
I believe the cops on this one. I don’t have my serial numbers written down for any of those items, save weapons. I can and will do better, and I encourage everyone in East Ridge to do the same.
Having said that, I believe the cops can and should do a better job in working burglary cases. Help is coming.
The ERPD recently acquired software that will help them track pawn shop activity. This is a systematic approach to recovering stolen property. First, though, a resident needs to have a description and serial number of their stuff.
Secondly, the cops will soon have in-car computers. OK, so what? They can do their reports from their car out on the street inside their district, instead of having to go back to HQ to write it up. Cops on the street means higher visibility and some crook who might be thinking of doing something stupid might think twice with a cop sitting in a car doing some paperwork around the corner.
Chief J.R. Reed has hired 13 officers under his tenure. More cops with better tools may make a dent in the number of crimes being committed. If not, something might be wrong here.
Another huge plus has been our East Ridge Neighborhood Watch Facebook page, started by my neighbor Mark Brandt. Prior to Brandt’s efforts, our city simply put up a “Neighborhood Watch” sign on every street corner. It was, in my opinion, a pathetic gesture akin to whistling as you walk past the graveyard, attempting to give people a false sense of confidence and doing nothing to deter crime.
Now, people all over the city are being more vigilant and reporting to police and their neighbors any suspicious activity that they see.
Again, technology is helping in this effort. People see stuff and get on social media to get the word out to neighbors, almost in real time. The cops monitor social media websites and get good, solid information.
According to TBI stats, the solve rate for all crimes in East Ridge improved from below 25 percent a few years ago, to almost 34 percent in 2014. That’s real progress.
I feel the outrage of the citizen at last week’s meeting. I do. It was straight out of the film “Network,” when Peter Finch’s character screams into the TV, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”
I truly believe he’s not alone. There are many in the city with the same frustration. However, I would suggest, don’t get mad; get even.
Lock your vehicles. Don’t leave anything valuable like a computer, your wallet, cash or a weapon inside the car. You’re just asking for it to be stolen. I look through reports at ERPD headquarters almost every day. I see the reports of burglaries and thefts from cars. It’s astounding what people leave unsecured in cars.
Use some common sense. Lock your doors and windows. I don’t have to tell you this. I had to get a home security system after my home was broken into in order to keep my homeowners’ insurance. It’s a good idea if you can afford it.
My dog and my neighbors’ dogs are good alarm systems. I walk the dog around my neighborhood and meet my neighbors in the process. It’s good to know who is home at certain periods of the day.
And, I keep my eyes open. It’s relatively easy to spot somebody who doesn’t belong.
A veteran Chattanooga police officer once told me when I first started reporting on fire and police back in the late 1990s, the best crime prevention tool is having alert people in your neighborhood.
Let’s partner with the police. Let’s help them do their jobs. Let’s go the extra mile. Let’s cut ’em a little slack right now.
And if our city is not a better, safer place to live and play in the next year with all the new tools they have, let’s then hold them accountable.
The 2015 Crime in Tennessee Report comes out in April. You can count on East Ridge News Online to relate that information to the public.
However, you’ve got to take the report with a grain of salt. It was Mark Twain who popularized the saying, “There are lies, damn lies and statistics.”
Numbers are numbers, not people. Crime is an emotional thing. It would behoove the leadership of the East Ridge Police Department to remember that.
