2021 law enforcement wrap up in the Pine Belt - WDAM
PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - Year-end crime stats are not officially available just yet, but a few law enforcement agencies in the Pine Belt identify drugs and theft as some of their biggest issues in 2021.
Perry County Sheriff Mitch Nobles says his department saw an increase in property crime this year.
“It’s really been a pretty big thing this year for some reason,” Nobles said.
Both Perry and Jones Counties have seen an influx in ATV thefts.
“We’ve had a lot of them in the past few months that, you know, that we haven’t seen in the past,” Nobles said.
“People are just walking in people’s yards stealing stuff out from under the carports,” Jones County Sheriff Joe Berlin said.
In addition to ATVs, Nobles says catalytic converter thefts are also on the rise.
“I know that’s crazy to be that small of an item and that big of a problem, but we’ve seen a lot of that,” Nobles said.
In Laurel, Chief Tommy Cox says they are seeing a lot of unlocked car burglaries.
“It happens so quickly, that when you have them, you’ll have 10 instead of just one,” Cox said.
He says they’ve made several arrests this year and have returned a lot of stolen property.
“Please lock your car doors even at your house, at work or wherever you are,” Cox said.
Another problem, drugs.
“Crystal meth being one of the leading drugs that we have a problem with here in Perry County,” Nobles said.
Of the arrests made this year, Sheriff Nobles says most were drug-related arrests for sale or distribution.
“We made many felony drug arrests throughout the year,” Nobles said. “So, we’re steady working against it for sure.”
Berlin says meth is also a problem in his county.
“We’ve seen a big increase in methamphetamine,” Berlin said. “We’re also seeing a big increase in heroin.”
“We’ve confiscated 1,0633 grams, which can equal up to about 3.51 pounds and street value around $65,000,” Berlin said.
He says his deputies have saved many lives this year from fatal opioid overdoses by administrating the nasal spray, Narcan.
“I think we had four last year, we’ve had over, we’re in double-digits now,” Berlin said.
In Laurel, the police department has made 47 percent more drug arrests this year compared to last. Cox says he believes extra funding through grants has played a part in the spike.
“We have two separate grants that get extra officers out, you know, doing checkpoints or you know, making traffic stops, trying to make the roads a little bit safer,” Cox said.
As these law enforcement agencies work to get all their 2021 data, they say they will continue to monitor crime trends and work on finding solutions.
“My overall goal is to continue what we’re doing now and just improve on what we got and continue moving forward,” Nobles said.
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source: https://www.wdam.com/2021/12/30/2021-law-enforcement-wrap-up-pine-belt/
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