County’s crime rate drops 7.12 percent in 2009 on The Murfreesboro Post

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County’s crime rate drops 7.12 percent in 2009

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By: LISA MARCHESONI, Post Senior Writer

Posted: Sunday, January 31, 2010 7:14 am

County’s crime rate drops 7.12 percent in 2009 | Crime

When sheriff’s Detective Capt. Preble Acton reviewed crime statistics, she recalled a handwritten note posted at the Rockvale Post Office.

A burglary victim wrote a note on a piece of white notebook paper asking people to watch out for each other.

Acton agreed.

Although she’s pleased the county’s crime rate dropped by 7.12 percent last year, Acton believes if neighbors watched out for each other and reported suspicious activities, the crime rate would drop even more.

“Neighbors should take care of neighbors,” Acton said.

Detectives investigated 2,008 major crimes last year, a drop of 154 cases from the previous year. Auto burglaries increased while home burglaries, thefts, sex crimes and domestic violence cases decreased from 2008 to 2009 in Rutherford County.

Three people were murdered in 2009, the same as the previous year.

All three murders were believed inflicted at the hands of family members, she said.

Victims Kevin and Mary Jane Adams, both 43, of Halls Hill Pike, were shot and killed in April at their Halls Hill Pike home. Their son, Jesse, 14, was shot and survived.

Their nephew Daniel Hazlett, 24, of Lascassas was charged with murder but the case was continued after evaluations showed he was incompetent to stand trial.

In the third death, Sonny Elledge, 69, of Betty Ford Road died Dec. 11 at his home. His son, Eric, 31, was charged with first-degree murder. His case is pending in General Sessions Court.

Patrol officers and detectives may be making a dent in the murder rate of domestic cases by intervening early.

Domestic violence cases dropped from 374 in 2008 to 318 in 2009, a decrease of almost 15 percent.

Patrol officers make the arrests in many domestic violence cases and write thorough reports so detectives will get a sense of the seriousness of the case.

Both patrol officers and domestic violence detectives help the victim through the court process and give the victim and chance for a safe place at the domestic violence shelter. The victim is given an opportunity to use community services. Detectives give victims their phone numbers for emergency situations.

Regarding the property crimes, Acton said neighbors can help prevent burglary and theft crimes by watching out for each other.

For instance, if a family plans to be out-of-town, ask a neighbor to watch the property. Or if someone sees a suspicious person at a neighbor’s house, call the sheriff’s office at 898-7770 and ask a deputy to check out the person.

“We don’t mind checking someone out,” Acton said. “That’s our job.”

People who see suspicious cars in the neighborhood should obtain a description of the car and driver and the license plate if possible and notify the sheriff’s office.

She credited Sgt. James Harrell who leads the Community Services Unit in establishing Neighborhood Watch programs throughout the county to stop burglaries and thefts.

“It could be a whole lot better if people got involved,” the captain said, adding detectives depend on witnesses in apprehending burglars and thieves.

When interviewing suspects, detectives learned they admit breaking into three houses but actually broke into 15 houses.

If someone breaking into cars admitting stealing from 10 to 15, they probably broke into 50 vehicles.

Other notes of interest

Besides the property crimes, detectives are now investigating computer crimes, especially people who are soliciting children for sex online. Ten suspects were charged last year.

Critics may believe the time invested in computer crimes may be a waste.

“They wouldn’t if their daughter or son were on the other end of the computer,” Acton said. “We follow the law explicitly. We only put away perverts.”

Detectives arrested 246 suspects on 612 counts and cleared 1,139 cases.

Through their investigations, detectives recovered $685,023 worth of stolen property last year.

One of the most striking recoveries was a wedding ring Detectives Scott Tillman and Chris Owens recovered the day before the couple married. The couple invited the detectives to the wedding.

Lisa Marchesoni may be reached at 869-0814 or at lmarchesoni

@murfreesboropost.com.

Tagged under Crime

Member Opinions:

By: Stingray on 1/31/10
The sheriff and police departments do an excellent job in keeping crime down but I think one of the major contributors to lowering the crime rate last year was the increased response from law abiding citizens to get the proper training and obtain their carry permits. Everyone is ultimately responsible for their's and their loved ones safety. Having watchful neighbors is a big plus to our safety and security.

By: Boo on 1/31/10
Stingray- AMEN! Excellent post!

By: truthandjustice1 on 1/31/10
Yes, I agree our law enforcement in rutherford county does a great jobs and we are lucky to have them less a few morons who get into trouble. I too believe citizens have gotten more involved but, also these department have so many great programs like for example the neighborhood watch program the Sgt. James Harrell, Jimmy Cassity and Greg Dotson promote on behalf of the Sheriff's office, MPD< SPD and LPD also all have these programs along with the Citizens Academy to educate us as to our community. Thank all for their work, keep up the good job.

By: josef on 1/31/10
I think that with these very generalized catagories that the statistics can be manipulated to the point that the numbers could prove that the sun will come up in the WEST in the morning. If the stats were so great, why are the news reports full of shootings, robberies, etc, etc ad nauseum?
Is the sheriff's son still working at the RCSD? He was some years ago, I forget the position he was being PAID to do...any answer from the powers that be?

By: Boo on 2/2/10
What's your problem with the Sheriff's son working there? If he is a decent person and does a good job, then what's wrong with him working there and getting PAID for it?

By: Emptypockets on 2/2/10
josef josef you seem to be blowing smoke every where you go!! Again Man up if you have a problem with the Sheriff's Dept or Police Dept. Go to them and say hey I have a problem with you!
You sound like such a Cry Baby!!

By: bal2v_mtsu_s10 on 2/4/10
Neighborhood Watch signs help decrease the chance of home burglaries, sure. But I wouldn’t exactly rejoice over an article boasting a drop in crime rates if car burglaries still increased. The best of the numbers shown here only display a mild improvement. (2,162 to 2,008 major crimes) I don’t know of any ways to lower auto burglaries, so I would just suggest that you don’t leave anything valuable in your car. Usher found this lesson out the hard way. The famous singer apparently left over a million dollars worth of items in his car. He came back to find his car had been broken into, without the laptops, jewelry, and other expensive items he left in there. A million dollars may be nothing to Usher, but leaving that many things in the car leads me to believe he is not the smartest individual.

By: springs on 2/5/10
2008 crimes investigated
1139 cleared

A little over 50%, not very good police work if you ask me.

By: bal2v_mtsu_s10 on 2/5/10
Neighborhood Watch signs help decrease the chance of home burglaries, sure. But I wouldn’t exactly rejoice over an article boasting a drop in crime rates if car burglaries still increased. The best of the numbers shown here only display a mild improvement. (2,162 to 2,008 major crimes) I don’t know of any ways to lower auto burglaries, so I would just suggest that you don’t leave anything valuable in your car. Usher found this lesson out the hard way. The famous singer apparently left over a million dollars worth of items in his car. He came back to find his car had been broken into, without the laptops, jewelry, and other expensive items he left in there. A million dollars may be nothing to Usher, but leaving that many things in the car leads me to believe he is not the smartest individual.

Leaving things in your car isn't smart. just as leaving your home for extended periods of time, such as vacations, without asking a neighbor or friend to check or watch it. It's good to see the slight drop in crime rate. Law enforcement seems to be on the right track.