The Palestine Herald, Palestine, Texas

Local News

Discussion

Add a comment on this story
August 3, 2012

Law enforcement agencies discuss top culprits

By PAUL STONE Palestine Herald-Press

PALESTINE — Dubbed “The Top Five Lunch” and patterned after similar efforts in other states, 17 representatives of multiple law enforcement agencies in Anderson County got together Thursday to identify ways to curb the area’s recent wave of burglaries.

Representatives of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Palestine Police Department, the Anderson County Adult Probation Department and others attended Thursday’s 90-minute meeting which was organized by Anderson County District Attorney Doug Lowe.

Lowe said similar approaches in larger jurisdictions such as Atlanta and Indianapolis have proved effective. Today’s criminals, even in smaller jurisdictions such as Anderson County, are utilizing new methods and means in their efforts, he indicated.

Burglars and other offenders, in many cases, are “very sophisticated as far as leaving trace evidence behind.

“They use GPSes (Global Positioning Systems), they use maps,” Lowe stated. “They know who’s building a house, they know who’s at home...It’s more sophisticated than just kids in the neighborhood breaking into houses.”

New methods by offenders correspondingly requires a different response from law enforcement, including bringing representatives of different agencies, who can sometimes become isolated in their own worlds, together in the same forum.

“What happens in this line of work is the sheriff’s office gets busy doing their own thing, the police department gets busy doing their own thing and the district attorney’s office gets busy doing their own thing and we forget to communicate,” said Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor, who attended Thursday’s get-together. “It was very good, very informative and we need to do this more often.”

Thursday’s meeting gained its name, “The Top Five Lunch,” from Lowe’s request that both the police department and sheriff’s office bring a list of their top five burglary suspects to the meeting.

Although the names were not made public, Taylor said, “There definitely was some overlap (in the agencies’ list of names).”

Lowe next plans to hold town hall style meetings throughout the county during the fall, mentioning Frankston, Elkhart and Tennessee Colony as some of the possible locations.

The district attorney wants county residents to know law enforcement is aware of the problem and not sitting idly on the sidelines.

“People have been wondering what we’re doing,” Lowe said, “and hopefully this shows we’re doing something.”

 ------------

Paul Stone may be contacted via e-mail at pstone@palestineherald.com

 

Text Only
Local News
Magazines
Podcast
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
AP Video
Raw: German President Welcomes President Obama Fans Cheer Dramatic Heat Comeback Raw: Arizona Wildfire Scorches 8 Square Miles Hoffa Mystery Still Fascinates After 4 Decades Raw: 1 Dead in Shooting at Mo. Apartment Complex Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park Raw: Obama Arrives in Berlin 3 Charged in Ohio With Enslaving Mom, Daughter Obama Seeks G-8 Support on Syria Raw: Volcano Erupts Near Mexico City Kid Couture: Spending Big Bucks on Babies Suicide Bombs Target Baghdad Mosque, Killing 29 Military Plans to Put Women in Combat Jobs Solar Power Chargers in NYC Parks Civil Rights Groups Sue NYPD Over Muslim Spying Raw: First Lady, Daughters Enjoy Irish Sights RAW: NSA Director Says 50 Plots Foiled Boeing, Airbus Battle for Sales Supremacy
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide