I was concerned when another resident told me they had been broken into, but after hearing from other people that there have been several robberies in recent weeks I'm downright mad.
What is going on that Brookneal has become such a hotbed of theft? There have been at least four businesses broken into, one of them twice. Some of the perpetrators are even known. Why aren't these idiots in jail?
It's difficult enough in a small town to run a business. If we allow thieves and drug addicts to run our businesses out of town then we ill all suffer.
The council has got to take pro-active measures to insure that the crime rate does not continue to rise. We need another police officer, and we need one now.
We need something to get kids off the streets after dark. I'm tired of seeing young kids out on Main Street after 11:30 PM. Where the hell are these kids' parents?
I'm tired of wondering if my car will be broken into when I go into a store. I'm tired of giving a sigh of relief when I come home and don't find my house broken into while I'm away at work.
Small towns are supposed to feel safe. I'm not feeling so safe any more.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Rash of robberies
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10 comments:
Amen!
I needed to go to the Wachovia ATM tonight and there were three thugs walking up main street and I was afraid to stop. There were two town police cars parked on Rush Street but would they have heard me had I yelled?
I don't go to the post office late because I do not feel safe. I went early one morning and found someone asleep in the wind-break area. What a jolt to my system!
I have had to call the police because someone was messing around the house. The Rustburg police got here before the Brookneal police did.
Brookneal is not like it used to be!
I agree "Where are the parents to the kids" I agree we do need another policeman. Because the three that we do have,Have families also!They don't make enough as it is .Maybe at you'r next so call"Council Meeting"that should be brought up when everyone is talking out of there ass.We do have one great POLICEMAN here in Brookneal and he goes out of his way every day for everyone.He can't be on call all the time because he has a family to be there for them.Like he is there for the town of Brookneal.
While I agree there seems to have been a rash of criminal behavior in town lately, I wouldn't be too quick to criticize the Brookneal police.
You have a three man department that has been overworked and underpaid for many years now. Many times there will be only one officer on duty. If that officer responds to a call, he is not available to go to another call until he clears up the first one. Now, they use common sense and if they have someone pulled over for speeding and get a call to a possible break in, I'm sure the break in would take precedence. But, they can only be in one place at a time.
If they arrest someone, they have to transport the suspect to Rustburg, taking them out of the town and thereby leaving the town without police protection for however long the process takes. Heaven forbid they should have to do an ECO, they could be gone for 6 hours or more.
If you, as a citizen of Brookneal, call 911, it goes through the same dispatch as the Campbell County Sheriffs dept. If there is an officer available in Brookneal then that officer will respond, if not, then the county will respond. That’s just how it is.
For those that are not aware, several years ago the town council (majority members) informed the police that they were to cut down on overtime. Fair enough in tough economic times, in my opinion. The only problem with this is that they have continued to allow the "acting town manager" to accumulate unnecessary overtime on a DAILY basis. This is money that could be used to either pay overtime for the police or hire a fourth officer, giving you (the citizen) better protection.
Several years ago Bill Gillespie was being paid $40,000 a year to be town manager. Mr. Gillespie only showed up at the town office 1/2 day a week at best. For $40,000 a year you would think he could at least give the town a full day. For $40,000 a year they could have hired a fourth officer! But some members of council felt having an “empty suit” in the office was more important than protecting their citizens.
The Town of Brookneal does not have any new revenue coming in, this is a fact. Some of what they did have has now been cut, another fact. A big loss was taken when Dan River left. Money is tight, I get that, I think everybody does.
What should be happening now is a little belt tightening and cutting unnecessary spending. Mr. Gillespie is still getting $60.00 an hour for “consulting services.” Much of the work that he is getting credit for is work done by the Region 2000/Regional Commission. This is a governmental agency to which the town pays yearly dues for their services. They have worked diligently with the town to obtain many of the grants for which Mr. Gillespie is given full credit. They handle the grant work for numerous other localities; there is no reason to believe that they cannot do the same for Brookneal. If anyone is interested, why not go by the town office and ask to see Mr. Gillespie’s invoices for the last two years. It's your right under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. I’ll bet you’ll be surprised how much he’s getting for services that could just as easily be done by another, much less expensive, alternative.
Quit paying out foolish amounts of money where it isn't needed and you'll soon find you have enough for a fourth officer. I'll bet you will find you have at least enough to pay the guys you have to work a little later into the night, when much of the crime happens.
Laurie
I certainly am not critcizing the Brookneal police. They are short handed and need another officer! I think that they are stretched thin and not getting the consideration that they need. They cannot do their jobs effectively when they are so short handed, and under paid.
People want to move here because of the wholesome small town image, but seeing thugs walking the streets and fearing that you'll be robbed is not giving a good impression. We need at least 1 officer on night patrol and until we get one the problems are just going to get worse.
Brookneal Blogger
Brookneal Blogger said: "I certainly am not critcizing the Brookneal police. They are short handed and need another officer!"
I was responding more to the first anonymous who posted than I was you.
anonymous said: "There were two town police cars parked on Rush Street but would they have heard me had I yelled?"
and...
"I have had to call the police because someone was messing around the house. The Rustburg police got here before the Brookneal police did.
Brookneal is not like it used to be!"
Sorry for the confusion. I should have used quotes.
Laurie F.
I am fully in support of enacting a curfew. There is absolutely NO reason for anyone under the age of 18 to be out on the streets after 10:30 PM. I've gone down to my shop at night to check on animals and I've seen KIDS, and I mean 14 and under, on the street at 2:30 AM. WTH are their parents thinking?
I think we do need another officer and it would certainly be money better spent then some of the things we are wasting money on now.
i don't even like walking to my car from food lion after dark. on the weekends te teenagers and kids are sitting in the parking lot and they scare me. they also drive really fast through there and could hit someone. something needs to be done
Laurie Francis where do you get off assuming I was criticizing the Brookneal police? I was merely posing a rhetorical question on whether or not the policemen could have heard me.
I was stating a fact that the Rustburg police got here first. There is no criticism implied or stated.
I was also stating a fact that Brookneal is not like it used to be. Stores were open downtown. We had industry--textile and tobacco. People could even leave their doors unlocked.
Heavens knows that Brookneal police have always been underpaid and overworked. Instead of a town manager maybe we should use that money to pay them more or get them more help.
anonymous said: "Laurie Francis where do you get off assuming I was criticizing the Brookneal police? I was merely posing a rhetorical question on whether or not the policemen could have heard me."
Sorry, but your post definitely seemed critical of the police dept. If it was meant to be rhetorical, it did not read that way.
You went on to say the following: "The Rustburg police got here before the Brookneal police did.
Brookneal is not like it used to be!"
That sounds critical.
There were no "assumptions" made, simply responding to exactly what you wrote.
You have now stated: "I was also stating a fact that Brookneal is not like it used to be. Stores were open downtown. We had industry--textile and tobacco. People could even leave their doors unlocked."
If you had expounded on your thoughts like this earlier, there would have been no confusion. Instead, all you said was "Brookneal is not like it used to be!" After the statements about the police not being able to hear you and the comment that the Rustburg police got there first, one can only conclude that this was, indeed, a complaint about the police.
However, now that you have explained further, I agree with your later statements. :-)
I do stand by my earlier comments though, whether they apply to you or not is irrelevant.
Laurie F.
anonymous said; "Instead of a town manager maybe we should use that money to pay them more or get them more help."
1. Campbell County is short of help as it is.
2. We have the same number of police officers today as we did when Guill was chief, and himself and his officers had little trouble covering the town during most hours around the clock.
Every shift he pulled, Guill would go to each business in the entire town and check front doors, back doors and all windows.
About the only doors and windows that get checked now are to the Mini Market!
So I think that we DO need a town manager and DON'T need to pay the police more money at this time.
"An equal days pay for an equal days work" is what we need. (and that applies to all employee's)
Someone needs to know how to schedule rotating hours that change every week or so, thus confusing the criminal element in town. Chief Cousins actually said in a recent council meeting that the law breakers new the police schedule as well as the police did.
Hire a town manager, full or part time who can actually manage the town, put Mr. Crews back where he is best suited and pull the money he was given for "extra duties", eliminate Mr. Gillespie from the payroll period, start pulling money from the local bank (over $300,000 now.....as some has finally been moved) that is only paying 1.36% Money Market interest (not covered by the FDIC in most cases) and move it to any other bank, in town or out of town that will pay decent rates on CD's (which are covered up to $100,000, and maybe before the weeks end will be covered up to $250,000 if this passes).
CD money is available on demand just as Money Market funds are. You may loose some interest, (pending on how long the money has stayed in account) but never one dime of your initial investment.
When the town had $687,000+ in this Money Market account in June, at 1.36%, they lost potentially over $21,000 in interest per year compared to the rate that their lowest CD at another town bank was offering, which was 3.50%. (highest rate at that same bank was 4.96%, which would have been nearly $35,000)
Figure on six $100,000 CD's at those rates compared to the MM account at 1.36%.
The $687,000 only earned the town $5379.00+ in one year. The 6 CD's they had at one other bank with various rates from 3.50%--4.96% made the town $5285.00+ interest in one year.
Problem is, you're looking at a difference of only $94.00 more for the $687,000 in MM acct. than you made on the 6 CD's totaling roughly $380.000....
Unreal!
Take care of all these issues and it should give the town more than enough to pay a town manager and hire another officer, and maybe even pay current officers more money, if they start earning it.
It was brought to my attention by one council member that the town was "in good shape, we have over $1,000,000 in the bank".
Managed properly, this should allow the town to achieve these goals with ease.
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