“Your tips make a big difference”

By LEON G. RUSS HOMETOWN NEWS lruss@hometown-news.com Pacolet’s new Chief of Police Robert Ivey was sworn in following the Pacolet Town Council Meeting on Thursday, April 3 at the Town Hall. Following his swearing - in, he headed a Crime Watch Meeting at the Town Hall. He spoke to more than 30 citizens and explained the force has been operating short-handed. Ivey recommended council hire Jimmy Carter as a police officer. During the council meeting council voted to approve of the hiring. Even with the hiring it still leaves the police force short-handed, as another officer is still serving in the National Guard. Ivey explained the town’s police have been working with the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Department in policing Pacolet. He stated, “We’re going to continue working with them, maybe even more so than before. We can’t do what we do without them.” Ivey told the citizens gathered there were 126 calls to the police in March. Pacolet police responded to 106 (84.1%) of those calls while Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to two (1.6%) with 18 calls being bypassed (14.3%). Of the 126 cases in March, 23 were traffic stops, 11 were disturbances, 10 were complaints to the police, nine were follow-ups to investigations, nine were vehicular accidents without injury, and there were eight larceny calls. Ivy then provided a breakdown of the peak times of the day calls came in and peak days when calls came in. He told those gathered he wasn’t sure what accounted for the peak time of 2:00 pm or the peak day of Thursday. Ivey told the citizens it was vital that they phone in tips and act as the eyes and ears of the community since the police “can’t be everywhere at all times.” He explained citizens’ tips led to the arrest of a man who robbed the Lil’ Cricket store. Without citizen tips he wouldn’t have been apprehended, he said. “You all are our biggest help in locating people who commit crime. Your small tip can make a big difference.” Ivey floated some ideas he has for the town such as having neighborhood meetings and establishing an anonymous tip line. The Crime Watch Meeting is held after each month’s council meeting. Ivey would like to add Neighborhood Crime Watch Meetings because “I feel it would work better on a smaller scale and possibly get a better turnout.” Ivey stated the anonymous tip line would go directly to an answering machine the police could review. The chief also stated the police would once again perform building and residence checks. He said the building checks would “make sure our businesses are secure.” Residence checks will be provided upon citizen request. He explained residences could be checked if citizens call and provide the dates they will be out of town. He cautioned that these checks couldn’t ensure a home won’t get broken into while a citizen is out of town. He again noted, “We can’t be everywhere at all times.” Ivey also told the citizens that the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Department would do a home security evaluation for them if asked. There is no charge and it takes about 30 minutes to complete. The final bit of information he passed on was urging citizens to call 911 in an emergency rather than the Town Hall.