FEBRUARY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Cases of Interest: Sometimes we think television programs like NCIS and CSI are the only ones who use forensics to solve crimes. Well, we may not have the technology as shown on TV where information is imputed in a small handheld device and the suspect information is provided within seconds or minutes, but we do have technology available to us which takes a damaged DVR hard drive and retrieves the video. That is exactly what happened in a case involving a burglary at Hogi Yogi. Months ago the Hogi Yogi in Springville was burglarized (with damages in excess of $,.). During the investigation shoe prints were found along with a damaged DVR hard drive. With the assistance of a technology forensic specialist, images were found on the damaged hard drive and a suspect was identified. A local resident was identified, located, interviewed and a confession was obtained for the burglary and damage to the business. The suspect was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail. Another example showing technology? Well, because of good technology the Springville Fire department was dispatched to a fire alarm at Spring Haven up Hobble Creek Canyon. When fire crews entered the utility room where the alarms alerted the danger they encountered the temperatures exceeding degrees. A boiler had malfunctioned, causing the dangerous spike in temperatures! Firemen were able to shut it down before the boiler caused a fire to break out. Local residents were not evacuated and there was no damage to the structure. A resident had the rare opportunity to see a Bald Eagle in Springville, what was even more rare was that it was in their backyard injured and had to be captured. The Animal Control Officer along with assistance from patrol officers was able to capture the eagle. They found it had an injured leg. Once captured it was turned over to the Division of Natural Resources (DNR). Most people would like to have a haulmark trailer of their own. So recently someone decided they wanted one. They just didn t want to pay for it. The business Top It reported the trailer stolen from their lot in Springville. A few days later the trailer was found in a Walmart parking lot in American Fork. An observant officer saw the trailer and checked it. and discovered it was stolen. It was decided the owner be contacted and asked to respond to pick up the trailer. The trailer was found to contain a great deal of stolen property. The property was collected by detectives from the Springville Police Department and owners were eventually located. The property, valued at almost $,., was released to the owners. One of the most feared situations an officer can encounter on the job is to be caught in a shooting. Two officers from the Utah County Sheriff s Department experienced that last week. One deputy lost his life in the shooting and the second was shot in the head. Whenever such incidents occur, a multijurisdictional task force is called in to investigate. Three of our officers responded to that call out. By the way, the second deputy sustained serious injury but is expected to recover from his injuries. Deputy Greg Sherwood began his career in Springville as an officer and many of us here in the department know him fairly well. We are all saddened by what has happened to two fellow officers and the pain suffered by their families. Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to Deputy Wride s family and we all wish a speedy and full recovery to Deputy Sherwood.
FEBRUARY CITATIONS AND ARRESTS Citations issued by teams: Starting off the year, our officers issued two hundred twenty five citations for three hundred eleven different offenses. Sgt. Carter s team led all teams with seventy eight cites issued. DFOS 8 Team Citations TDUN GCAR 78 INV ACO 9 TRAF Other officers and teams were busy with traffic enforcement as well: 9 7 P Gause J Drumm
Arrests: During the month of January, Springville Police Department made one hundred five arrests charging suspects with more than two hundred different offenses. By far, most of our arrests were for misdemeanor crimes, such as shoplifting. Even so, there were thirty six felony crimes were included in those arrests. Felonies ranged from burglary, to drug charges, to one suspect who was arrested for five counts of sexually assaulting a child. Offenses (Felony vs Misdemeanor) Arrests (Juvenile vs Adult) Month Felony Misd Month Juvenile Adult JAN 7 JAN 9 FEB FEB MAR MAR APR APR MAY MAY JUN JUN JUL JUL AUG AUG SEP SEP OCT OCT NOV NOV DEC DEC DUI Arrests Drug Arrests Team Drug & DUI Arrests GCAR DFOS TDUN TRAF INV DFOS Team Arrests and Use of Force TDUN Officer Presence 9% GCAR INV TRAF Firearm Displayed % TASER Used % Verbal Persuasion % Minimal Physical %
FEBRUARY PATROL DIVISION The Patrol Division kept plenty busy this month as well. Officers responded to nearly one hundred traffic complaints or accidents during the month. (There s nothing like standing in sub freezing temperatures as cars whiz by, splashing snow and water on you!) Fortunately, most of these accidents were not serious. Injury Hit & Run Reportable Non Reportable 8 Other common calls were also fairly numerous during the month. Here are four of our most common problems: Traffic Complaints 9 Family Problems Drug Cases Thefts Patrol Response & Reports Response Responsible/Report
FEBRUARY INVESTIGATIONS The Investigations Division handled and cleared several cases, in addition to assisting a variety of multijurisdictional task forces on cases both here in Springville and elsewhere. Detective Response & Reports W Foster G Turnbow R Sorensen J Reed J Ellsworth S Pratt Total Responses Total Reports Detectives here carry a fairly high caseload of active cases. Some cases are cleared by arrest, while others leads run out. Sometimes a case may have to sit until forensics examination of evidence is completed. (Unlike on television, evidence such as DNA results, fingerprint identification and the restoration of damaged hard drives takes months or even years to complete!) 7 Active Cases Inactivated Cases Cleared Cases Arrests by Investigators W Foster G Turnbow R Sorensen J Reed J Ellsworth S Pratt